In 1975-76, on the rue de l’Ouest in Paris’ XIVth arrondissement, between the southern ends of the rue Daguerre and the rue Niepce, one event dramatically changed the artistic landscape–the appearance of the collective Contrejour, an alternative newspaper, book publisher and gallery for young photographers.
In 1976, Claude Nori, founder of the collective, gathered photographs of artists he called the “children of May 1968 and of Niepce”. These artists perceived photography as a language for expressing a new feeling of liberation, a sense of identity, political commitment and a genuine philosophy of life. Assembled for the first time, their works became a book and a gallery exhibition entitled “Photographie actuelle en France” (Contemporary photography in France), an event renewed in 1978 and in 1980 that became the foundation of what would later be termed «creative photography.»
Coming from very different horizons and styles, all the artists embraced black-and-white photography for its rich expressiveness and the vast possibility of technical manipulations. Their reportages were inspired by the city and landscape, in the broadest, most humanistic sense, dealing with their travels and unexpected encounters made along the way. Echoing this concern, some also investigated self-portrait, the body and their sexuality, boldly deconstructing images that became visually surprising and provocative.
This exhibition brings together vintage prints from Claude Nori’s private collection. It reawakens the feeling of stimulation and discovery of that decade – a time when the photography field was fresh and wide open, unspoiled by the financial speculation of the art market. It also invites us to appreciate the early works of photographers who have since become prominent on the art scene.
Alain-Gilles Bastide
Photographs by: Dominique Isserman, Bernard Just, Pierre Le Gall, Christian Kempf, Eddie Kuligowski, Claude Nori, Alain-Gilles Bastide, Claude Van Degryse, Roland Laboye, Gérard Dupuy, Patrick Chapuis, Alain Dister, Bernard Descamps, Christian Sarramon, Guy Le Querrec, Jean Louis Beaudequin, Yan Morvan, Monique Tirouflet, Roger Vulliez, Bernard Plossu, Franck Fournier, Ian Patrick, Francis Jalain, Mireille Dupuis, Arnaud Claass…
L’avènement de « la nouvelle Photographie »
As part of the Mois de la Photo 2012 in Paris
Curator : Alain-Gilles Bastide
November 2nd – 14th, 2012
Galerie Montparnasse
55 rue du Montparnasse
75014 Paris – France
Tél. : +33 (0)1 53 90 66 09
From Tuesday to Saturday: 4:30 pm – 8 pm
On Sunday: 3 pm – 6:30 pm
Free Entrance
