If you wonder what a woman can accomplish in a century, visit the Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) exhibit at the Jeu de Paume (until April 29, 2012). Not only was she a technician in the darkroom, a portraitist and a collector with foresight, the changing aspects of New York architecture, Americans along US Route 1 on the east coast fascinated her She invented cameras to capture movement at MIT. (If you miss the exhibit, links are below to visit her works virtually after April 29.) Petit Journal -ENGLISH – Bernice Abbott – Jeu de Paume Exhibition Having just seen the photographs of the Abbott exhibit, I could not help but notice one of her portraits in a shop. While passing a shelf of photography books in a museum bookstore, on the book’s spine, the photograph of Eugène Atget (1857-1927) jumped out at me. This photo of Mr. Atget, who is considered...
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The Ai Weiwei exhibit “Interlacing” (“Entrelacs” in French) is upstairs at the Jeu de Paume until April 29. “Ai Weiwei is an architect, conceptual artist, sculptor, photographer, blogger, Twitterer, interview artist and political activist; a sensitive observer of current topics and social issues.” He is also a thorn in the side of the Chinese authorities. Petit Journal – Ai Weiwei – Jeu de Paume in English. The video on the Jeu de Paume Website is in English. I hope it remains visible to explain this observant and observed individual. Ai Weiwei left China for New York in 1983. The exhibition follows his career from 1983 through 2011. His photographs show a dark side to life even if the colors are bright. One of the most troubling series of photographs to me is an example of construction and destruction. At the request of the Shanghai government, he designed and built an arts and cultural...
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Photos showing life in the “belly of Paris” (le ventre de Paris)  by Robert Doisneau are on display at Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The exhibit is free, the photos of Les Halles are mostly black and white in simple black frames. Some from the 1960s, in color. No fancy matboards. No matboards at all. Les Halles was a busy place, no place to be fancy judging from the photographs. The exhibit closes April 28, however, books listed at the end of this article, will keep the exhibit alive. The catalog is available in French and English. Video of the exhibition and what is planned. What You Will See At The Exhibit The photos of Doisneau show fresh and hard working faces. They are fresh because the people voluntarily look into his camera. They knew him when he came to the market place to record action now and then....
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