Crazy Horse! Never has the name of a cabaret conjured up so many dreams! A mythical cabaret par excellence, where bodies dressed in light transport us into a sensual universe with a hushed ambience, the venue has fascinated us since its creation in 1951.
Six decades of meticulous shows, women with perfect bodies, bewitching curves and prestigious muses(Dita Von Teese, Arielle Dombasle) have made Crazy Horse the temple of femininity, celebrating the naked body with exquisite elegance. Shadows and light mingle with choreography, leaving plenty of room for suggestion and imagination.
As part of the Festival Photo de Saint Germain des Près 2011, Juliette Aittouares-Caillon presents in her vintage furniture gallery Espace 54, until November 30, 2011, an exhibition of some thirty photos byAntoine Poupel, an intimate and confidential vision of the famous Parisian cabaret captioned by Gilbert Lascault.
These shots, taken from the Crazy Inside book published to mark Crazy Horse’s 60th anniversary, blend seamlessly with the designer furniture, making the experience even more intimate, almost carnal, as the curves of the furniture seem to mirror those of the body. The voluptuousness of a Cherner armchair or a Panton chair offers itself to the curves of Crazy Horse, while the beams of a Castiglioni arc lamp enhance the photographer’s prints.
With great delicacy, Antoine Poupel’s lens reveals the behind-the-scenes of this “device of desire”, where shapes and lights allow the photographer to capture the essence of the famous cabaret. Femininity is sublimated and the perfect arch of these goddesses is honored. In the course of a photo, we discover a few personal objects and, above all, the famous wig tree so emblematic of Crazy Horse.
The photographer’s discreet eye reveals the intimate life of the cabaret, offering our curious gaze on rehearsals and stretching, revealing a few moments of quietude in a small, dedicated salon between two shows, revealing on the faces the fatigue left by hours of work:“Through my photos, I wanted above all to show that, in addition to being sublime, all these girls work hard and that high standards are part of their daily routine.” Corsets and laces fascinate us.
The opening of this exceptional exhibition was an opportunity to meet Antoine Poupel and Gilbert Lascault, who naturally confided in us and took us behind the scenes of this legendary studio, telling us anecdotes and little secrets about these unique photographs, each telling a story.
Antoine Poupel was born in 1956 in Le Havre, France. His avant-garde artistic work, which questions the pictorial and chemical limits of photography, has made him known worldwide and opened the doors of the most prestigious photographic institutions, as well as those of the Crazy Horse cabaret and the Zingaro equestrian theater created by Bartabas.
Alternating photographs of shows and dressing rooms, mixing black & white and color, the book and by extension this exhibition is also the fruit of“a love affair with the Crazy Horse, which began during a photo shoot with Antoine Bernardin“, explains Antoine Poupel. Closed by a magnet, the aesthetically pleasing book opens like a woman being gently undressed.
Antoine Poupel first met Alain Bernardin some twenty years ago, in the early 90s. By chance, Antoine Poupel met the famous founder and director of Crazy Horse. At the time, the photographer was producing a series of portraits of well-known and lesser-known personalities, each of whom chose the location for the shot, and emblematic elements in keeping with their personality.
Alain Bernardin took part in the adventure and chose to be photographed in the Louvre Museum, in front of an Egyptian sarcophagus, in and on which is engraved a nude woman with stars. They struck up a friendship, and it was only natural that Alain Bernardin should appoint him as the official photographer of the Paris cabaret.
A loyal visitor to the legendary Parisian cabaret for over twenty years now, Antoine Poupel has built up such an intimate relationship with the dancers that he has even been granted access to the dressing rooms. And the trust placed in him by the dancers can be seen in the photos, a trust acquired over time without ever asking for anything.
“Backstage access was a privilege that gave me the opportunity to create a story with the girls, based on trust. I was able to forget myself and capture their intimacy without artifice. “says the photographer in all humility.
The magnified bodies are thus offered up to the gaze of Antoine Poupel, who witnesses the dancers’ daily mise en abîme, their approach to the edge of the abyss that dominates at the end of a performance. And every day, he witnesses their rebirth, relaunching themselves unceasingly.
Fascinated by movement, which is difficult to capture, the photographer retranscribes it quite faithfully, as in the case of this dancer sitting on a chair, raising her head, her hair forming a swirl. He lets himself be carried away by the movements and then chooses the shot he prefers.
The story of Crazy told in photos finds an incredible echo in Gilbert Lascault’s texts, which wonderfully reflect the imagination of Antoine Poupel, whom he has known for thirty years, without imposing a reading on us. Literature comments on the sensitive surface of photography, which becomes a veritable writing of light.
Born in Strasbourg in 1934, Gilbert Lascault is a writer, art critic and professor emeritus of philosophy of art at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne. His work includes works on aesthetics, monographs and books of fiction, and he has written on photographers, painters, sculptors…
For the writer, an image is always a way of telling a story, a kind of tale. He takes pleasure in meeting the image, inventing a story, the ultimate poetry behind each word. Words are first born in his head, then put down on paper to draw their strength from. And his strength lies in telling us a story without overpowering the image. So we’re free to listen to his story and invent our own.
And when he talks about a photo featuring 6 dancers whose legs cross, he takes us into another universe. A tribute to the emblematic codes of Crazy, camber, heels and graphics come together in a sensual, powerful photo in which the letter X gradually stands out.
For Gilbert Lascault, the X is first and foremost a sign of multiplication, but also the act of crossing out, crossing out and cutting out. It’s also the famous letter symbolizing the unknown. This cliché then becomes an algebra of love, the algebra of Eros under the writer’s pen.
In this exhibition, Juliette Aittouares-Caillon takes us to meet two exceptional artists who transport us to one of Paris’s most legendary venues: the Crazy Horse. The magic of the stolen moments we discover amidst vintage furniture, the poetry of the words and the gentleness of the place take us on the most beautiful of journeys, that of dreams, sensuality and voluptuousness.
But beyond the dream appears the dancer who, like a sportswoman, spends countless hours going to the very end of herself to give us the best part. This behind-the-scenes look is worth seeing, and through Antoine Poupel’s lens, it’s as magical as the show itself.
Photo credit: Copyright Antoine Poupel
Crazy Inside
Photos by Antoine Poupel. Text by Corinne Decottignies
Editions du Chêne
224 pages
Price: €35
Espaces 54
54, rue Mazarine 75006 Paris
www.espaces54.com
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
