The Lisette Model exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris is the perfect demonstration of the power of photography: to be the witness of an era or a way of life, the expression of a collective memory. Lisette Model, an American photographer of Austrian origin, is one of the great names in 20th century photography and was one of the pioneers of street photography.
This exhibition of 120 pictures of the photographer includes excerpts from all of her major series, from her first photographs taken in Paris and Nice in the early 1930s, to those of the Newport Jazz Festival or the Belmont Park racecourse taken in New York in the 1950s. New-York has been a constant source of inspiration, the city, its bars, its streets, its people…
The exhibition oscillates between famous images such as this shot of Ella Fiztgerald echoing that of Louis Armstrong and more confidential photographs such as the series “Pedestrians”. In the same logic, she goes from clichés of society’s haves to those of more deprived characters. This prolific collection of photos, mostly from galleries around the world, is rich in emotions, laughter, looks, and realities. Some pictures are clearly dated, others are more uncertain and are more related to a period – perhaps to an era – than to a specific year. There are also copies of newspapers of the time with which Lisette collaborated: Harper’s Bazaar, US Camera …
Lisette Model fixes an emotional moment on film. She expresses a certain perception of the world through her lens and takes us to witness these slices of life, these moments that she decides to share beyond the limits of time. It’s brilliant and shows the importance of all these clichés. Lisette does not steal these moments that she fixes forever on film, she captures them as a testimony of a moment, a piece of collective memory. Looking at his photos is a bit like projecting yourself into the scene you are seeing. It is particularly successful with his series “Reflections” which takes the pulse of New York showing parts of the city projected on different store windows, the beginnings of a consumer society or on these photos of bourgeois women always dressed up, reflections of an era when elegant women could only show themselves in a perfectly neat outfit. Far from looking down on the subjects she photographs, Lisette looks at them with respect and passion. Everyday life is captured in all its splendor. The subject is the most important as in “Running Legs” showing the urban agitation.
When asked about her work as a photographer, she replied: “By taking a photo, I ask a question and through the photo an answer is given, a moment that cannot be fixed with the eyes. We know things but we don’t always understand everything around us.“
This vision of the photographer’s work particularly appeals to me because it is similar to my own. Photography is there to help us understand the world we live in.
And that’s what makes it a major art for me, whatever one may say about it….
You can see for yourself until June 6, 2010 at the Salle du Jeu de Paume.
Lisette Model exhibition
Curator: Cristina Zelich
Exhibition organized by the Jeu de Paume and the Fundación MAPFRE
Tuesday (nocturne): 12pm to 9pm
Wednesday to Friday: 12pm to 7pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 7pm
Closed on Mondays.
Admission: €7 – Concession: €5
Jeu de Paume
1, place de la Concorde
75008 Paris
Metro Concorde (lines 1, 8 and 12)
Photo credits: © Lisette Model with the courtesy of Jeu de Paume
Marie-Odile Radom
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