Wilder Mann: The Image of the Savage

by Charles Fréger (photographer), Robert McLiam Wilson (Introduction)

The rituals are centuries old and celebrate the seasonal cycle, fertility, life, and death. People literally put themselves into the skin of the "savage," in masquerades that stretch back centuries. By becoming a bear, a goat, a stag, a wild boar, a man of straw, a devil, or a monster with jaws of steel, these people celebrate the cycle of life and seasons. The costumes amaze with their extraordinary diversity and prodigious beauty. Work on this project took leading French photographer Charles Fréger to eighteen European countries in search of the mythological figure of the Wild Man.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, History, Folklore, Anthropology, Paganism

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

For this book Charles Fréger photographed “wild men” in a number of European countries, mostly in the mountainous regions of middle Europe. Theses hordes of “wild men” are relics of an agricultural past in which the fertility of land and women were of the utmost importance for the local clans and communities, because a surplus of food and people would help them survive the harsh circumstances they invariably lived in. In order to help the sun and conquer winter complex rituals were devised, of which the symbolic meanings mostly have been forgotten, even amongst practitioners of the rituals themselves. Other bands of men cleanse away the sins of the year before, or bring fertility to young maidens. Some of the wild men represent the superhuman progeny of bears and women, others represent death, animals, thieves, and a myriad of other characters. Dressed in sheepskins, plant material, straw, horns, bells, bones, always hairy and often eyeless, these “wild men” with their grinning teeth and enlarged heads not only look wild, they often look otherworldly and downright ghastly, the primeval stuff children’s nightmares are made of. Some wild men look like buddhist demons or soot-covered transvestite witches. One group of stick-carrying hairy devils staring proudly and coldly in the camera could pose as an obscure Finnish black metal band. Dadaism is never far way.
Most pictures are static and have a sober background of snowy hills, dry mountains and barren fields. Not a few of the photos have a direct emotional impact, as if you knew these men, but -due to an over-exposure to light, noise and years behind computer screens- had forgotten about their existence (in fairy-tales and unwelcome dreams). An essay and some background information about the communities involved complete this strange and fascinating book.

[Zo · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love the photography, the comments by the author continuously referring to pagan/early religious beliefs as "savage" is off putting.

[James Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw a few of the photos from this book posted in an online newspaper article, and was blown away when I checked out Freger's complete collection. I had no idea that, stretching across Europe from Macedonia to the British Isles, people still maintain centuries-old carnival traditions featuring amazing handmade costumes full of elements bizarre, surreal, and disturbing. Bodies made of straw or puffy burlap sacks; animal masks carved from wood with horns attached in vivid, often funny ways; enormously high furry heads like something out of a Zeuss fantasy--Freger has documented these and many others with wonderful photographs, and accompanying text describes their connection to Shrove Tuesday and other New Year carnival holy days. Most play a part in clownish fertility rites that predate Christianity, and carry with them an ominous magic our modern world cannot match. Get a copy of this book and prepare to be astonished!

[mia :•) · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO SWAG

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

French photographer Charles Fréger documents contemporary celebrations of pagan festivals featuring "the Wild Man."

The photographs in this book are like living fairy tales. The costumes and masks are amazing. The use of formal poses harkens back to early photographic portraits, heightening the surreal feel evoked by the subjects.

While the introduction is rather pompous, the essay "The Wild Man and the Tradition of the Mask in Europe" that follows the photographs is great. The final section contains "description of the characters and groups," which provides more information on the characters depicted in the photos and the groups who hold the festivals in addition to the geographic locations where each festival is held and time of year it takes place.

As a side note, the images reminded me of the artwork in the Carnival at the End of the World Tarot deck by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Xmas coffee table volume for very pagan living room! Beautifully shot portraits of European krampuses, perchten, twig bears, ghostly goats and many other creatures of the solstice and harbingers of the spring accompany brief but learned text on the customs and sportive rituals in which they play mysterious roles of sacrifice, rebirth, and fertility. The effect is like a series of lovely windows into a past almost lost beneath the weight of a couple of centuries of globalization, one loud village instead of many, poorer for the homogeny. It's enough to make me want to tour the byways of the continent trying to look innocuous and local rather than like a gawping tourist. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the introduction, which I found fairly inane. The rest of the package is awesomely atavistic.

[Andrew Nease · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funky, easy-to-get-through coffee table book, full of pictures of the groovy little guys that show up at traditional celebrations throughout Europe, and who personify the Wild Man archetype. The Krampus is the most famous of these, but you can find them all over the damn place at any given semi-obscure holiday if you know where and when to look. Like Santa Claus: Saint, Shaman, & Symbol, which I read at about the same time I finished this, it's a great look at the crazier, more pagan side of the holidays we take for granted in the modern world, and since it has a ridiculously high pictures-to-text ratio, it's easy to get through even by photography book standards. All and all, a pretty fun read.

[Florian Ecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eins meiner liebsten Fotobücher. Super stylisch und super interessant. Ne tolle Kombi also. Durch das durchblättern, schmökern und lesen der zusätzlichen Infos merkt man, wie ähnlich sich die Kulturen im Kern sind, nur eben angepasst an ihre jeweilige Umgebung. Ob das wohl für die ganze Welt gilt? Da bin ich mir sicher! Wär mal ne coole Feldforschung...

Jedenfalls berühren diese Gestalten etwas archaisches, tief altes in mir. Ich kanns nicht ausdrücken aber ich bin fasziniert. (4,5)

[Stevyn Colgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary book. It's a shame that there's no English translation but I got there in the end on the strength of my schoolboy language lessons and with a fair bit of help from Google translate. That said, the pictures alone make this book a worthwhile investment.

[Gordon MacLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a book of images and provocations...makes me want to go and visit these places, see these people, dance in those streets and probably get over-excited and need to sit down quietly with a small glass of something.....

[Dei Mur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lluniau anhygoel am ffyrdd o fyw sy'n brysur diflannu.

[Erik B.K.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suuuuuuuuuuper awesome

[Giulio Andrade Fajardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nel bene o nel male, ha ancora ragione Talete nell'affermare: << Tutto è pieno di Dèi >>.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing photos, fascinating information in the text in the back, highly recommend!

[Sue Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, that's my next 50 holiday trips sorted. just amazing.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

The portraits are stunning, creepy, weird. Beautiful and strange and powerful. The introduction is a waste of time, and the book is almost entirely images -- and then. Finally, at the end, small excerpts telling us a little bit more about the festivals all over Europe that these masks and costumes come from, a little bit more about the historical tradition, and the materials, and what these images are celebrating. I wanted that information first, or interleaved or somehow not hidden, but I can see how some of the power of the images is in the sheet incongruity, the mystery of imagining running into one of these figures alone in a landscape. Very cool, and I find the enormous and ubiquitous bells totally fascinating.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of photos of people in costumes for traditional rituals. If you like this you might also like Once a Year, but this is the better of the two in my opinion.

[Lissa Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilder Mann contains a lot of stunning photos of the wild man tradition kept alive in ceremonies, plays and parades throughout Europe today. The gorgeous images are accompanied by some notes on the particular traditions and legends shown. I found the subject fascinating and was left wanting more.

[Bertrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un magnifique ouvrage sur ces coutumes européennes encore bien vivantes et leurs liens avec le sauvage, le sacré, le païen et l'humain. Passionnant.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

mostly photographs. still great.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book with amazing photographs. I just wish the stories about the figures were more detailed.

[Fern Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful book.