David Goldblatt’s Photographs

Goldblatt explains photos in video

The Centre Pompidou is showing photographs by David Goldblatt, who has chronicled South Africa and its people from the 1950s until today. The exhibition (until May 13, 2018) begins with his early 1960’s photos of “Afrikaner” famers and the mining world. His images provide insights into the troubled history of South Africa while inviting us to look at buildings and landscapes as indicators of the values of a society.  Continue reading “David Goldblatt’s Photographs”

Meet Raoul Hausmann the Dadasophe

Raoul Hausmann as danser 1929 August Sander ADAGP, Paris, 2017

“Vision in Action” —an exhibition at Paris’ Jeu de Paume— is an opportunity to discover the photographic work of Raoul Hausmann (1886-1971), one of the key figures in the Berlin Dada group, whose experimental photographic collages, poster poems, sound poetry and provocative art critiques had a profound influence on the European Avant-Garde in the aftermath of World War I (until May 20, 2018). Continue reading “Meet Raoul Hausmann the Dadasophe”

Jaromir Funke Revisited in Paris

Jaromir Funke

Paris’ Czech Cultural Center exhibits the work of photographer Jaromir Funke (1896-1945) who was a leading figure in Czech photography during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Funke’s work is a melange of the major trends in modernist European photography, blending constructivism and functionalism with surrealism, photograms and social commentary. He cofounded in 1924 the Czech Photographic Society with Josef Sudek and Adolf Schneeberger. Two years later he produced a series of Surrealist images of store windows titled “Glass and Reflection,” inspired by Eugène Atget. Continue reading “Jaromir Funke Revisited in Paris”

Ali Kazma’s “Souterrain”

Ali Kazma, “Subterranean” diptyque video

The Jeu de Paume in Paris is showing Turkish lens-based artist Ali Kazma’s recent non-narrative documentary videos (until January 21). Kazma, who studied in the States at the New School, represented Turkey in the 55th International Art Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia. His video installations —usually five to fifteen minutes—are a melange of various situations and social types… a kind of update on August Sanders. In a recent interview with ARTE he described the documentary nature of his work as an effort to create a “poetic archive of the human condition.” Kazma’s videos are an excellent compliment to the other Jeu de Paume exhibition currently on devoted to legendary “New Objectivity” photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch. Continue reading “Ali Kazma’s “Souterrain””

Albert Renger-Patzsch’s “Things”

Stapelia variegata, Asclepiadaceae 1923 Albert Renger-Patzsch

A major exhibition of around 190 photographs revisits the work of the German photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897-1966), whose photographs are associated with the “New Objectivity” genre ( to January 21, 2018).  His typologies and industrial landscapes have influenced the documentary style of several generations of photographers including Bernd and Hilla Becher as well as Andreas Gursky. Continue reading “Albert Renger-Patzsch’s “Things””

Magnum’s Analog Recovery at Le Bal

Leonard Freed. Harlem fashion show, New York, 1963 © Leonard Freed/Magnum Photos

The legendary Magnum photo agency, founded in 1947 by Robert Capa, David “Chim” Seymour, Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger, is an international photo cooperative owned by its members. This year marks the 70th anniversary for the famed photography agency and the completion of its Paris archive. To celebrate Le Bal presents “Magnum Analog Recovery” an exhibition of work from Magnum’s Paris archives that spans from the agency’s creation in 1947 to 1977. This collection—stored in Paris as paper prints— brings together “press”  photos distributed to newspapers and magazines. Continue reading “Magnum’s Analog Recovery at Le Bal”

Walker Evans Paris Retrospective

© Walker Evans Archive. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Pompidou Center revisits the work of one of the 20th century’s most influential photographers with an extensive Walker Evans’ (1903-1975) retrospective. His signature style with its attention to quotidian detail became a major photography reference for serious students of photography. This is the first major retrospective of his work in France (until August 14, 2017). Continue reading “Walker Evans Paris Retrospective”

Josef Koudelka at Pompidou

La Fabrique d'Exils
La Fabrique d’Exils

The Pompidou Center exhibits Josef Koudelka’s classic “Exiles” series. We haven’t seen his work in Paris since his big exhibition in 1988 at the Centre National du Photographie. Last year Koudelka donated to the Pompidou Center his entire “Exiles” series. The exhibition (free) includes these photos along with some interesting self-portraits taken by the photographer during his travels.  Continue reading “Josef Koudelka at Pompidou”