As the cloudy sky of Paris begins to dissipate letting transformative sunlight announce the approaching of the spring. The “Jeu de Paume”, one of France’s most prestigious photography museums, starts a new cycle of expositions that will remain present for the upcoming four months. This season main exhibition “Cartes et Territoires” (Maps and territories) is the first ever international presentation of the Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri (1943-1992). Followed by the first personal exhibition of the Parisian filmmaker and photographer “Florence Lazar” with “Tu crois que la terre est chose morte” (You think that the earth is a dead thing”. and for the 12th edition of the “Satellite” program, the Jeu de Paume partenered with the Museum Ampara de Puebla in Mexico, presenting “Anna and the Jester dans la fenetre d’Opportunité¨ (Anna and the Jester at the Opportunity window) by Julie Béna.
The “Maps and Territories” retrospective of the Italian photographer principally collects his work during the 70’s often portraying his natal city, Modena, and other important cities in Europe. It includes various series including modern publicity images, the imaginative universe of amusement parks, cartographic details of an atlas, among others.
Salzburg 1977 Luigi Ghirri. Private Collection. Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery. © Succession Luigi Ghirri
Ghirri was one of the first photographers to play with color as a pure aesthetic. His use of color in photography distinguishes him as one of the pioneers of this format.. The exhibition also showcases his interest in capturing man-made representations of the world, principally with his “Atlante” series in which he pictures the fascinating world of symbols and images, and with the “In Scala” series which portrays the reduced scales of Italian and international emblematic places of the “l’Italia in miniature” (Italy in miniature) park.
The presence of people and human environments in his photographs can be easily interpreted as still frames from a movie, however Ghirri claimed that he didn’t intend to tell a story, but to photograph a subject in a space.
“If photography is a trip, it is not in the classic manner that this word suggests, it’s more like a route that we draw with many deviations and returns, fortuities and improvisations, a zigzagging line. “
-Luigi Ghirri
This exhibition makes us discover Ghirri’s style of interpreting the 70’s decade through his colors and compositions, which survived through the decades, and which’s traces are still currently present in Instagram filters and mainstream compositions unknowingly imitative of his original work.
Florence Lazar exhibition’s “Tu crois que la Terre est chose morte » (You think that the earth is a dead thing), title was taken from “Une tempête”, a postcolonial adaptation of the William Shakespeare play “The Tempest”. The museum presents a collection of his works from the year 2000 to the present. Including his latest creation “125 hectares” portraying the consequences of threatening practices in monoculture.
Les Femmes en noir 2002 Florence Lazar Video
In “Ana and the Jester dans la Fenêtre d’Opportunité” Julie Béna make us wander between objective reality and abstraction through a 3D animated film and a set of sculptures. The dream-like film collects various pop culture, art, architecture and literature references.
Anna & the Jester in Window of Opportunity 2019 Julie Béna Vidéo. Coproduction : Jeu de Paume, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux et Museo Amparo, Puebla. © Julie Béna et Galerie Joseph Tang
The current exhibitions will remain present until June 6, 2019 at the Jeu de Paume, Concorde, Paris
More Info:
Jeu de Paume 1, place de la Concorde 75008 Paris
01 47 03 12 50
