“Vu du Coeur”: The conference of Yann Arthus-Bertrand held in Monaco

“Why the heart (“Coeur”)?” Once I had taken a photo of the island from a bird’s eye perspective, revealing the shape of the heart, that image became pretty symbolic for me. Everything is simple, I am full of love for everything that surrounds us”. At the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco in December those were the opening words of the conference – spoken by the French photographer, journalist, film director of Dom (2015) and Man (2015), an ecologist, humanist and chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor, Yann Arthus-Bertrand. In his photographs the artist tries to show the beauty of our planet in its entirety and also depict the pernicious impact of humans on the environment.

Yann was always inspired by animals, in particular, by lions. He even raised a few of them all alone. The most beloved was Victor. “It was a lion, who taught me photography and how to see real beauty”- the photographer pointed out during the conference.

Jane Goodall was always considered as a role model by the photographer. She is a famous primatologist and ambassador of UN peace. The British anthropologist gained her popularity by studying the behavior of chimpanzees in the jungle, where she spent more than 30 years of her life.

“When I was 30 I decided to become a scientist, to study lions. To do this, I had to earn a living. So I did tours in a balloon in Kenya and since then I have understood how the Earth looks from a height. Since then I fell in love with aerography,” says Yann.

After 1992 the photographer began his round-the-world trip, observing many continents from a helicopter. Even then, the artist realized how many global problems exist that appear in nature and are very visible. Concerned about the actual issues, Yann decided to demonstrateit to the public through photos. “A photo should be beautiful, but also understandable to everyone,” – says the photojournalist.

Dozens of photos were shown at the conference. The disappearance of corals because of the climate change, the deforestation of tropical forests, poaching, the loss of 70% of insects on the planet, the contamination of water by pesticides and petroleum products does not even form a third of the questions that Artus-Bertrand is concerned about.

On the screen was displayed a picture of Mount Kilimanjaro, the peaks of which are no longer covered with snow and the dialogue continued explaining the reasons for this phenomenon: “In recent years, Kilimanjaro has lost 80% of its ice. This photo hurts me, because it shows the effects of global warming and the disappearance of glaciers, while the ice is our drinking water. ”

Graphism is a key feature of the style of Yann Artus-Bertrand. The photographer says that working in this style is not so difficult, the main thing is to have a good lens and, of course, a vision.

During the event, teasing cameo scenes from Yann’s documentaries were also shown, namely, “Home” and “Human” that have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Once, the French photographer got into a helicopter accident. On being seriously wounded, the only things he wanted were to call his wife Anne and a glass of wine. Yes, you did understand correctly! – a glass of wine as a link to home, to France and to his closest ones.

The conference “Vu du Coeur” was held in a very cosy atmosphere. Kate Powers, president of Monacology and co-founder of Stars’n’Bars, delivered a thank-you speech to the photographer. The Mission of Monacology is to conduct environmental education, through activities in Monaco and abroad. In addition, during the evening there was a beautiful lyrical pause during which the French singer Aynoa performed several romantic compositions.