The Bibliothèque de France explores for the first time the unique relationship of Richard Avedon with France. Celebrated since his debut for his fashion photography, Avedon has developed throughout his life an exceptional work, punctuated with French encounters that have strongly influenced his work. The exhibition brings together nearly 200 pieces, chosen to tell a story: that of deep attachment to France of one of the greatest American photographers of the second half of the twentieth century.
The photographic image in Avedon was constantly enriched and renewed by and for other forms: text, book, magazine, cinema, dance… This constant reinvention is particularly noticeable in his work linked to France. From the 40ies, when Avedon came to photograph the Paris fashion collections for Harper’s Bazaar to his stay in 1968 to work on publishing a monograph of Jacques Henri Lartigue, until his collaboration with Nicole Wisniak for “L’Egoiste ” in 1985, each French meeting brought Avedon to reinvent himself and develop a hybrid practice of photography. “Avedon’s France” is revealed at the BNF in four parts, they testify of the richness of his work and is narrated with numerous portraits of people but also through a film, a book and a magazine.
Avedon’s France : Old World, New Look
October 18, 2016 to February 26, 2017
Bibliothèque François Mitterrand
Quai François Mauriac
75013 Paris
Catalog of the exhibition, in French and English, éditions of the BNF
Price: 59 euros
http://www.bnf.fr/
