As part of “Gender? People and Art Contribution”, a panorama of artistic practices focused on the question of gender, LO/A is proud to present an exhibition by Marie Baronnet until May 23rd 2015. This series will be also presented in part of Festival ImageSingulière from 13 to 31 may, 2015.
The exhibition revisits the French photographer’s homage to the pioneers of American striptease, today aged from 60 to 95, in her work Legends. Through the intimate shots presented in the gallery, Marie Baronnet empathizes with these women, who have been long overlooked. The legends of striptease and burlesque’s golden age, the women are revealed as much by the photographer’s lens as they are by their poignant stories and accounts. They relay the story of a forgotten America, where the beauty of handmade costumes blended perfectly with their unique choreographies, and where the progress from live music to the stereo signalled the end of an era spent in grandeur and decadence. Too quickly, they were swept aside by go-go dancing and the sex industry.
Largely from down-and-out towns, often dreaming of becoming actresses, the women found striptease a glorious escape far from sordid cliché. Marie Baronnet has not captured portraits of women attacked by the ravages of time—these photos reveal women who maintain a magic aura, or at least a power of fascination, beyond the strong character of the ‘self-made woman’.
“Don’t be mistaken. Each of these women is a true entrepreneur of the American dream. They conquered their bodies and their independence, their genders and their economies, and they paid a heavy price. That’s what makes them Legends.” – Marie Baronnet
If these striptease dancers were pioneers in their field, they are equally pioneers in women’s emancipation, homosexuality, and transsexuality. Breaking with the norms of a patriarchal society, they took fate into their own hands, travelling across the United States laden with suitcases and costumes as part of a day’s work. Their stories form part of the American saga, and today their bodies bear the traces of this life. Courageously, some of them were able to live their homosexuality and transsexuality during a particularly repressive time, emerging into womanhood by braving the law and the dangers presented by operations and unregulated products.
Marie Baronnet’s interest in Legends pushes beyond the exoticism of these women and this period for the contemporary European observer. It touches the whole spectrum of female gender – hetero, homo, trans… – to reveal the diversity and the singularities found in striptease, shown here as an art form in its own right.
A French photographer and videographer based in Los Angeles but firmly ‘bicontinental’, Marie Baronnet discovered an early interest in the body through a series of abstract self-portraits. A former student at the Beaux-Arts in Paris and the California Art Institute in Los Angeles, she began developing longer works with a documentary, sociological, and historical approach. She now works for American and French press outlets. For Legends, she travelled across the US for over two years. Marie Baronnet is currently working on a photographic project exploring the renaissance of Los Angeles’ notoriously rough Boyle Heights neighbourhood..
EXHIBITION
« Legends»
Marie Baronnet
From April 16th to June 6th, 2015
LO/A
17 rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth
75003 Paris
France
http://libraryofarts.com
FESTIVAL
« Legends»
Marie Baronnet
In part of Festival ImageSingulières
13 – 31 May, 2015
l’Espace Paul Boyé
45 quai de Bosc
34200 Sète
France
http://www.imagesingulieres.com
BOOK
Legends, The Living Art of Risqué
Marie Baronnet
192 pages
25 x 25 cm
Hardcover
140 color photographs
French or English version
ISBN: 979-10-92265-22-4
39€
http://www.mariebaronnet.com
http://facebook.com/LegendstheLivingArtofRisque
http://www.andrefrereditions.com
