Eugene Richards, Host of The Photojournalism Ark

In Paris, the Ark of Photojournalism opens festivities in style. Conceived as a high-pitched and modular exhibition space of 1200m ², located on the roof of one of the most famous buildings in La Defense, the Photojournalism Ark welcomes Eugene Richard’s The Run-of-time, his first retrospective in Paris.

In 1969, Eugene Richards refused military service. Passable for legal proceedings, he joined the civil association VISTA and its program of assistance dedicated to poor and vulnerable citizens and inhabitants of the American soil. In the Arkansas Delta, he began taking black & white pictures of people he met. He wanted to highlight misery without exposing it brutally. “The victims of misery, social and racial segregation, violence, the mentally handicapped, the war-torn soldiers, the harassed doctors and medical staff, the victims of drugs; he gives each of them attentive listening and a look to present them through images of kindness and empathy, showing a deep respect for humanity, “wrote Jean-François Leroy, artistic director of the Photojournalism Ark.

Subsequently, Eugene Richards will publish his first book in 1973, Few Comforts or Surprises: The Arkansas Delta, followed five years later by Dorchester Days (1978), a portrait of his childhood district. His career is marked by studies of American misery. Cocaine True, Cocaine Blue, published in 1994, provides an understanding of the social realities of drug trafficking and its use in American cities, well before the TV series The Wire. Red Ball of a Sun Slipping Down, published three years ago, is his latest book. He documents his life in the Arkansas Delta.

The exhibition presents 160 prints from this series. This is the first retrospective of the American photographer in Paris.
For the occasion, tomorrow Wednesday, October 26, l’Arche will host the photographer for a conference in English at 18:30.