Our Town est le portrait photographique de New Bern réalisé par MICHAEL von GRAFFENRIED. New Bern est une petite ville de Caroline du Nord de 30 000 habitants, dont environ 55% de citoyens blancs et 33% de citoyens noirs. C‘est ici en 1710 que Christoph von Graffenried, émigré de Berne, en Suisse, a commencé à construire quelques maisons au confluent des rivières Neuse et Trent; la cité naissante a pris le nom de sa ville natale. Prises sur une période de 15 ans, les photos de Michael von Graffenried ne sont ni des compositions formelles ni des instantanés éphémères, mais des images patientes de la vie quotidienne. Elles se caractérisent par une empathie, une compréhension de ses sujets et l‘absence de jugement: une congrégation d‘église noire, de jeunes filles blanches s‘exerçant à la pratique du fusil; des hommes noirs échangeant de l‘argent dans la rue, un couple de blancs exhibant sa collection d‘armes à feu et admiratif d‘un trophée de la chasse – un grand ours en peluche; une strip-teaseuse noire s‘exhibant pour un homme blanc.

En juin 2020, à la suite du meurtre de George Floyd le 25 mai 2020, New Bern a connu la plus grande manifestation qu‘elle a jamais vue, parallèlement à de nombreuses démonstrations Black Lives Matter dans tout le pays. Pour la première fois la question raciale, les relations entre Noirs et Blancs s‘exprimait dans la ville. Our Town de Graffenried est à la fois un document sur la fierté d’une communauté et un appel empathique à une meilleure intégration et une plus large compréhension à un moment décisif de l’histoire.

Our Town is MICHAEL von GRAFFENRIED’s photographic portrait of New Bern, a small city in North Carolina with a population of 30,000, conspicuously composed of 55% white and 33% black citizens. It was here in 1710 that Christoph von Graffenried of Bern, Switzerland, first began building houses at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers; the fledgling town took on the name of his home city. Taken over a period of 15 years, Michael von Graffenried’s photos are neither overly formal compositions nor fleeting snapshots, but patient images of everyday life showing understanding and no judgment of his subjects: a black church congregation, young white girls at rifle practice; black men exchanging cash on the street, a white couple displaying their collection of firearms with the trophy of the hunt—a great stuffed bear—looking on; a black female stripper performing for a white man.

In June 2020, following the killing of George Floyd one year ago on Mai 25, 2020, the largest demonstration New Bern had ever seen took place, parallel to many Black Lives Matter protests throughout the country and marking the first time the issue of black-white race relations had been thus proclaimed in the city. Von Graffenried’s Our Town is a both a proud document of a community and an empathetic call for increased integration and understanding at a decisive moment in American history.

“ …Graffenrieds images showed New Bern in an unflatering, even racist, light.“
Sun Journal, New Bern, NC – Thursday, September 27, 2007

«When Swiss Roots, an organization that offers Americans a chance to trace their Swiss history, approached me with the idea of going to New Bern, I first said no. New Bern, where Pepsi Cola was born, is a small town in North Carolina. It was founded by a family ancestor, Christoph von Graffenried, who had sailed for America in 1710, and I felt I’d worked enough on Switzerland for the time being. But on second thoughts, I decided I could use this family tie to open up the doors of this uneventful town. I went there several times over the year 2006. I wanted to hand America a looking-glass. A first selection of 33 panoramic pictures was shown in New Bern under the name “Our Town – an inside look at the United States today ». New Bern’s inhabitants did not like my version of their American life. Over the course of two months, local newspaper The Sun published eight articles without once publishing a picture, be it to announce the exhibition or to illustrate the debate over the project. I wonder if the freedom of the press in America is so obvious after all.»

OUR TOWN – Exhibition from October 7 to November 22, 2023 at FivePoints in New Bern NC, USA

Media Coverage:

OUR TOWN Exhibition from October 7 to November 22, 2023:

Seit fast 20 Jahren hält der Berner Fotokünstler Michael von Graffenried das alltägliche Leben in der US-amerikanischen Kleinstadt New Bern fest. Die Aufnahmen sind nun vor Ort ausgestellt – und sorgen nicht bei allen Einwohnerinnen und Einwohnern für Begeisterung.

OUR TOWN Exhibition from October 7 to November 22, 2023:

La version américaine de la ville de Berne, New Bern, a été fondée au XVIIIe siècle en Caroline du Nord par un émigré suisse. Trois siècles plus tard, un de ses descendants, le célèbre photographe bernois Michael von Graffenried, rend hommage aux habitants du lieu.

OUR TOWN Exhibition from October 7 to November 22, 2023 at Five Points in New Bern NC, USA: New Bern attraverso l’obiettivo svizzero di Michael von Graffenried. La cittadina della Carolina del Nord ospita un’esposizione con gli scatti raccolti negli ultimi 17 anni dal celebre fotografo bernese, che raccoglie un microcosmo americano.

-> SRF Webseite zum Beitrag

OUR TOWN -> PDF Online Kommentare

OUR TOWN Exhibition in Tblissi, Georgia

New Bern: The Portrait of a Small American Town -> Blind Magazine 18.05.2021

New Bern, portrait d’une petite ville américaine -> Blind Magazine 18.05.2021

Michael von Graffenried interviewed by US Cannel 12 on his starting project „Our Town, an inside look at the United States today“ in front of the Town Hall in New Bern, NC (2006)

Michael von Graffenried talks with Phil Knight on Channel 12 about his project „Our Town“ and the show in the Banks of the Arts in New Bern, NC (October 20, 2006)