This exhibition is dedicated to the collection of photographic works collected by Martin Parr. The photographer, a fervent defender of books, constituted a rich library of more than 12,000 books. Reflecting his particular vision, this colossal collection brings together books of great diversity collected around the world.
Collaborative project between Les Rencontres, LUMA and Tate Modern, this project highlights 50 works published between 1969 and 2018. The selection reveals a rich panel of artists who have marked photography in many ways. Whether form or content, this sselection shows photography in its multidisciplinarity: humanist photographers, conceptual, photojournalists, but also visual artists and fashion photographers etc.
This panorama of great visual and artistic richness is a tribute to the book as an object a crucial vector of the artistic and socio-political ideals of our time. To dedicate an exhibition to books in 2019 is to claim the importance and the modernity of this medium notwithstanding our time when the virtual is king. Because of its experimental nature and counterpoint to the dissemination of mass images, the book is considered by many photographers to be the most significant vehicle for displaying their work. Essential tool to communicate their vision to the greatest number, the book is still underestimated today in the history of photography.
Mécanique Générale
July 1 – September 22
