European photographic research tour exhibition: ‘L’equilibriste, André Kertész’ at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours Part 1

Exhibition dates: 26th June – 27th October 2019
Visited September 2019 posted August 2020

Curators: Matthieu Rivallin and Pia Viewing

 

 

Entrance to the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Entrance to the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

 

equilibrist, noun: an acrobat who performs balancing feats, especially a tightrope walker.

Part 1 of a large posting on the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours, which I saw in Tours in September 2019.

This was the most disappointing of the “grand master” exhibitions that I saw on my European photographic research tour, mainly because the photographs were all modern prints, and there seemed to be a lot of “filler” in the exhibition – namely, reproductions of late book layouts scattered generously throughout the rooms (see installation photographs below).

Having said that, it was still a great joy to see Kertész’s photographs, especially some of the photographs which are hard to find online. Here are images such as Görz, Italy 1915 and Abony 1921 which I have never seen before, together with rare Paris images such as Attelage, Paris 1925; Wooden horse, Paris c. 1926; The Quays after the rain, Paris 1963; Behind Notre-Dame, Paris 1925; Paris 1931; Legs, Paris 1928; Study of lines and shadow 1927 and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, Savoie 1929 – none of which have been available in a large size online before.

Together with the three intense, brooding, suspended still life (The Fork, Paris 1928; Composition, Paris 1928 and Glasses and Pipe of Mondrian, Paris 1926) and the sublime, modernist Chez Mondrian, Paris 1926, one of the most outstanding photographs in the posting, and one of Kertész’s most famous images, is Burlesque dancer, Paris 1926. The circular tensioning of the image is immaculate. The form of the twisting male torso at left with its upraised right hand leads the eye to the drawing at top centre, which then descends to the framed female form at right which inverts the male form with the right hand of the female now raised. The eye then descends to the reclining dancer, the zig-zag arms and legs perfectly composed, her left hand touching the ground like the Bhumisparsha mudra which symbolises the Buddha’s enlightenment under the bodhi tree, when he summoned the earth goddess (quite apt) … while her left leg completes the circle, pointing towards the twisting legs of the male statue. The split of the male legs are reinforced by those in the female print, and complimented by the exquisite folds of the dancers silky dress, unnoticed until you really look at the print.

I will comment more comprehensively in Part 2 of the posting on Kertész’s Leica-ed world.

Dr Marcus Bunyan

.
All iPhone installation photographs © Marcus Bunyan. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image. View Part 2 of the posting.

 

 

 

Exposition “L’équilibriste, André Kertész” au Jeu de Paume, Tours

 

Entrance to the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours, with a poster of 'Rainy Day, Tokyo' 1968

 

Entrance to the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours, with a poster of Rainy Day, Tokyo 1968
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Entrance text to the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Entrance text to the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left top, Friends, Esztergom 1917; at left bottom, Little geese, Esztergom 1918; at second left, Hungarian landscape 1914; at fifth left, Abony 1921; at seventh left, Young Gypsy 1918; at second right, Traveling violinist, Abony 1921 and at far right, Cellist 1916
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Les Amis, Esztergom' 'Friends, Esztergom' 1917 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Les Amis, Esztergom (installation view)
Friends, Esztergom
1917
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Petites oies, Esztergom' 'Little geese, Esztergom' 1918 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Petites oies, Esztergom (installation view)
Little geese, Esztergom
1918
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Paysage hongrois' 'Hungarian landscape' 1914 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Paysage hongrois (installation view)
Hungarian landscape
1914
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Paysage hongrois (installation view)
Hungarian landscape
1914
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Abony' 1921 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Abony (installation view)
1921
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Abony' 1921 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Abony (installation view)
1921
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Jeune Tzigane' 'Young Gypsy' 1918 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Jeune Tzigane (installation view)
Young Gypsy
1918
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Violoniste ambulant, Abony' 'Traveling violinist, Abony' 1921

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Violoniste ambulant, Abony 
Traveling violinist, Abony
1921
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Violoncelliste' 'Cellist' 1916 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Violoncelliste (installation view)
Cellist
1916
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, Lovers, Budapest 1915
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Hungarian Memories' 1982 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Hungarian Memories (installation view)
1982
New York, New York Graphic Society / Boston, Little, Brown and Company
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Lovers, Budapest' 1915

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Lovers, Budapest
1915
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Garçon endormi, Budapest' 'Sleeping boy, Budapest' 1912 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Garçon endormi, Budapest (installation view)
Sleeping boy, Budapest
1912
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Mon frère imitant le "scherzo"' 'My brother as a "Scherzo"' 1919 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Mon frère imitant le “scherzo” (installation view)
My brother as a “Scherzo”
1919
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Mon frère imitant le "scherzo"' 'My brother as a "Scherzo"' 1919

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Mon frère imitant le “scherzo”
My brother as a “Scherzo”
1919
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Mon frère tel Icare, Dunaharaszti' 'My brother like Icarus, Dunaharaszti' 1919 André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Mon frère tel Icare, Dunaharaszti' 'My brother like Icarus, Dunaharaszti' 1919 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Mon frère tel Icare, Dunaharaszti (installation view)
My brother like Icarus, Dunaharaszti
1919
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Mon frère tel Icare, Dunaharaszti' 'My brother like Icarus, Dunaharaszti' 1919 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Mon frère tel Icare, Dunaharaszti (installation view)
My brother like Icarus, Dunaharaszti
1919
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Text from the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Text from the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Hungarian Memories' 1982 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Hungarian Memories (installation view)
1982
New York, New York Graphic Society
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at centre bottom, Görz, Italy 1915, and at far right, Forced march towards the front 1915
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Görz, Italy' 1915 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Görz, Italy (installation view)
1915
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Marche forcée vers le front, entre Lonié et Mitulen, Pologne' 'Forced march towards the front, between Lonie and Mitulen, Poland' 1915 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Marche forcée vers le front, entre Lonié et Mitulen, Pologne (installation view)
Forced march towards the front, between Lonie and Mitulen, Poland
1915
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, Meudon 1928 at second right top, Quai d’Orsay, Paris 1926
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Meudon' 1928

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Meudon
1928
Gelatin silver print

 

Text from the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Text from the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Quai d'Orsay, Paris' 1926

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Quai d’Orsay, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, Attelage, Paris 1925; at second left, 60 years of photography 1912-1972; and at fifth left, Trottoir, Paris 1929
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Attelage, Paris' 'Coupling, Paris' 1925 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Attelage, Paris (installation view)
Coupling, Paris
1925
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Soixante ans de photographie' '60 years of photography' 1912-1972 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Soixante ans de photographie (installation view)
60 years of photography
1912-1972
Paris, éditions du Chêne, 1972
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Trottoir, Paris' 'Sidewalk, Paris' 1929

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Trottoir, Paris
Sidewalk, Paris
1929
Gelatin silver print

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation views of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at second left, Cheval de bois, Paris c. 1926; and at third left, Colette, Paris 1930. In the display cabinet is Marquette originale du livre non publié ‘Paris Automne’ December 1963
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Maquette originale du livre non publié Paris Automne' December 1963 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Marquette originale du livre non publié ‘Paris Automne’ (installation view)
Original maquette from the unpublished book ‘Paris Automne’
December 1963
Collection Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Cheval de bois, Paris' 'Wooden horse, Paris' c. 1926 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Cheval de bois, Paris (installation view)
Wooden horse, Paris
c. 1926
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Colette, Paris' 1930

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Colette, Paris
1930
Gelatin silver print

 

 

This summer at the Jeu de Paume Château de Tours, the retrospective exhibition The equilibrist, André Kertész: 1912-1982 is dedicated to the great Hungarian naturalised American photographer (1894-1985). His work was in tune with his life and his feelings: from his beginnings in Hungary to the development of his talent in France, from his years of isolation in New York to his international recognition.

A major player in the Parisian artistic scene during the interwar period, André Kertész, whose career spanned more than seventy years, is today recognised as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. His abundant work, with compositions marked by the European avant-garde – especially from Eastern Europe – finds its source in his Hungarian culture, which combines poetry and intimacy.

His beginnings in his native country are an important step for this autodidact whose realistic approach differs from the pictorial-influenced fine art photography dear to the Hungarian photographers of his generation. Enlisted in the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, he depicts the daily life of soldiers and develops a poetry of the moment, far from heroic or dramatic acts of arms. After the war, he tried to make photography his profession.

In October 1925, he landed in Paris where he frequented avant-garde literary and artistic circles and photographed his friends from the Hungarian diaspora, the street scenes and the Parisian gardens. In France as in Germany, the press, in particular the magazine VU, orders reports and illustrations from him. From 1927, he had a personal exhibition at the Au Sacre du Printemps gallery. In 1933, he produced his famous series of Distortions which shows naked bodies reflected in a distorting mirror. This intense activity led him to design his own books; over the course of his life, he published nineteen of them, including Paris vu par André Kertész (1934).

In 1936, Kertész left for New York to honour a contract with the Keystone agency. However, he struggles to find his place in the face of sponsors with requests far removed from his Parisian years. A few exhibitions as well as the publication of Day of Paris (1945) were not enough to establish him as one of the main representatives of avant-garde photography in the United States. From 1963, the largest museums offered him the opportunity to exhibit his images. This recognition is accompanied by the publication of numerous books which allow him to review his work.

Produced from the collection of negatives and contact prints bequeathed by the photographer to France in 1984, The equilibrist, André Kertész is the fruit of the joint work of the Mediatheque of Architecture and Heritage, which preserves these archives today, and the Jeu de Paume. Consisting of around a hundred modern silver prints made in 1995 by Yvon Le Marlec, the shooter with whom Kertész collaborated in Paris, this exhibition revolves around the major books that the latter published during his lifetime. Through prints, original models and reproductions of pages from her works, she traces the close relationship that Kertész has forged throughout her life between her photographic and editorial practices, composing a visual narration that describes the interwar period in Europe and nearly fifty years in the United States.

Text from the Jeu de Paume website

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Les Quais après la pluie, Paris The' 'Quays after the rain, Paris' 1963 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Les Quais après la pluie, Paris (installation view)
The Quays after the rain, Paris
1963
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Les Quais après la pluie, Paris The' 'Quays after the rain, Paris' 1963 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Les Quais après la pluie, Paris (installation view)
The Quays after the rain, Paris
1963
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Derrière Notre-Dame, Paris' 'Behind Notre-Dame, Paris' 1925 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Derrière Notre-Dame, Paris (installation view)
Behind Notre-Dame, Paris
1925
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Derrière Notre-Dame, Paris' 'Behind Notre-Dame, Paris' 1925 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Derrière Notre-Dame, Paris (installation view)
Behind Notre-Dame, Paris
1925
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'La Tour Eiffel, Paris' 1929 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
La Tour Eiffel, Paris (installation view)
Eiffel Tower, Paris
1929
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Le pont des arts, Paris' 'The bridge of Arts, Paris' 1932

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Le pont des arts, Paris
The bridge of Arts, Paris
1932
Gelatin silver print

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation views of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, Touraine 1930; at right top, Paris 1931; and at right bottom, Carrefour, Blois 1930
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Touraine' 1930 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Touraine (installation view)
1930
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Paris' 1931 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Paris
1931
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Carrefour, Blois' 1930 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Carrefour, Blois (installation view)
1930
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Carrefour, Blois' 1930

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Carrefour, Blois
1930
Gelatin silver print

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, La Fourchette, Paris 1928; at second left, Composition, Paris 1928; at second right, Les Lunettes et la Pipe de Mondrian, Paris 1926; and at right, Burlesque dancer, Paris 1926
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'La Fourchette, Paris' 'The Fork, Paris' 1928 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
La Fourchette, Paris (installation view)
The Fork, Paris
1928
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'La Fourchette, Paris' 'The Fork, Paris' 1928 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
La Fourchette, Paris (installation view)
The Fork, Paris
1928
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Composition, Paris' 1928 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Composition, Paris (installation view)
Les Mains de Paul Arma (The Hands of Paul Arma)

1928
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Composition, Paris' 1928 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Composition, Paris (installation view)
Les Mains de Paul Arma (The Hands of Paul Arma)

1928
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Composition, Paris' 1928

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Composition, Paris
Les Mains de Paul Arma (The Hands of Paul Arma)

1928
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Les Lunettes et la Pipe de Mondrian, Paris' 'Glasses and Pipe of Mondrian, Paris' 1926 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Les Lunettes et la Pipe de Mondrian, Paris (installation view)
Glasses and Pipe of Mondrian, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Les Lunettes et la Pipe de Mondrian, Paris' 'Glasses and Pipe of Mondrian, Paris' 1926

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Les Lunettes et la Pipe de Mondrian, Paris
Glasses and Pipe of Mondrian, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Danseuse burlesque, Paris' 'Burlesque dancer, Paris' 1926 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Danseuse burlesque, Paris (installation view)
Burlesque dancer, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Danseuse burlesque, Paris' Burlesque dancer, Paris 1926

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Danseuse burlesque, Paris
Burlesque dancer, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

Text from the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at left, Legs, Paris 1928; at third left, Fun fair, Paris 1931; and at right, Latin Quarter, Paris 1926
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Jambes, Paris' 'Legs, Paris' 1928 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Jambes, Paris (installation view)
Legs, Paris
1928
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Soixante ans de photographie' 'Sixty years of photography' 1912-1972 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Soixante ans de photographie (installation view)
Sixty years of photography
1912-1972
Paris, éditions du Chêne, 1972

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Fête foraine, Paris' 'Fun fair, Paris' 1931

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Fête foraine, Paris
Fun fair, Paris
1931
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Quartier Latin, Paris' 'Latin Quarter, Paris' 1926

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Quartier Latin, Paris
Latin Quarter, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Chez Mondrian, Paris' 1926 (installation view)

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Chez Mondrian, Paris' 1926 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Chez Mondrian, Paris (installation views)
1926
Gelatin silver print
Photos: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Chez Mondrian, Paris' 1926

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Chez Mondrian, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print

 

 

“I went to [Piet Mondrian’s] studio and instinctively tried to capture in my photographs the spirit of his paintings. He simplified, simplified, simplified. The studio with its symmetry dictated the composition. He has a vase with a flower, but the flower was artificial. It was coloured by him to match the studio.” ~ André Kertész

Decades after this photograph was made, André Kertész recalled the circumstances surrounding its creation. The composition is neatly divided in half: on the left is the intimate interior of the room in which Kertész stood, showing Mondrian’s straw boater on a peg and a table with the flower mentioned above. The vase perches precariously near the edge of the table, as if Kertész moved it to include it in the photographic frame. On the right, seen through a doorway, the curving banister and stairs soften the profusion of right angles and straight lines in the foyer.

Text from the J. Paul Getty website [Online] Cited 27/09/2020

 

Although Mondrian imposed rigid geometric order on everything in the apartment, Kertész found deviations in the curves of the staircase, vase, and the round boater hat hanging on the rack. (The hat belonged to the photographer’s friend Michel Seuphor, a painter and writer who authored a book on Mondrian, who had accompanied Kertész to the studio.) This photograph has become one of Kertész’s most famous, although it was not published until 1943. It was known previously only through exhibitions, including Kertész’s first exhibition in 1927 at the Parisian gallery Au Sacre du Printemps.

Text from the Art Institute of Chicago website [Online] Cited 27/09/2020

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours with at second left, Chairs, Champs-Elysées, Paris, 1930; at centre top, Study of lines and shadow 1927; and at right, Peintre d’ombre, Paris 1926
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Chairs, Champs-Élysées, Paris' 1929

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Chairs, Champs-Élysées, Paris
1929
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Étude de lignes et d'ombre' 'Study of lines and shadow' 1927 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Étude de lignes et d’ombre (installation view)
Study of lines and shadow

1927
Gelatin silver print

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, Savoie' 1929 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, Savoie (installation view)
1929
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'Peintre d'ombre, Paris' 'Shadow painter, Paris' 1926 (installation view)

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
Peintre d’ombre, Paris
Shadow painter, Paris
1926
Gelatin silver print
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

Installation view of the exhibition 'L'equilibriste, André Kertész' at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours

 

Installation view of the exhibition L’equilibriste, André Kertész at Jeu de Paume, Château de Tours
Photo: Marcus Bunyan

 

 

Jeu de Paume at the Château de Tours
25 avenue André Malraux, 37000 Tours
Phone: 02 47 70 88 46

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 2pm – 6pm
Closed on Monday

Jeu de Paume website

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Exhibition: ‘Sanlé Sory: Peuple de la Nuit’ at David Hill Gallery, London

Exhibition dates: 5th April – 31st May 2019

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le plein chez Total, route de Banfora' 1974

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le plein chez Total, route de Banfora (Full at Total, Banfora Road)
1974
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

 

The Equilibrist

I love these photographs. They are so direct, so honest.

The use of flash is magnificent. The square format perfect.

The players, that is the subjects, are characters on the stage of life. They know exactly what they are doing, self directing, directed by the photographer (using his commercial studio experience) into – pow! – that pose. They show off, they goof for the camera, they wear their best clothes, they lean on their cars. Here there is an innate balance between the photographer and his subjects.

There are intimate moments and moments of pure fun (such as Les Trois Cowboys de la Brousse (The Three Cowboys of the Bush), 1971 below), kitsch even. There is an immense pride and joy that emanates from these images – of human stories, of friendship, of dance and music. People escaping their ordinary lives. The people and their world are beautiful.

Unlike the close intimacy (the camera up close and personal), unexpected moments, and in motion photographs of Studio 54 and the New York City nightclub scene by Larry Fink – “where Fink’s subjects are caught off-guard by his camera, and their expressions provide windows into their weariness or giddy party euphoria” – here the photographer stands off at a mid-length distance allowing the surrounding context to add texture to the portraits. Doors, walls (with attached photographs), vegetation, cars and the night background his incisive “flash”, that recognition of just the right moment to take the photograph – even though, and perhaps because, the subjects are in on the act. To capture not just an image, but a feeling.

These people of the night are crystallised in these crystalline tableaux (“he writes a crystalline prose”), spectacular images that make you want to love them all the more. Oh, what it is to be human!

Dr Marcus Bunyan


Many thankx to David Hill Gallery for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image. There are more ecstatic photographs from this photographer from the book Sory Sanlé – Volta Photo 1965-1985 (2017) on the British Journal of Photography website.

 

 

“We fulfilled people’s fantasies. We gave them a chance to experiment, to escape their ordinary lives”


Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les jeunes danseurs de Sikasso Sira' 1972

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les jeunes danseurs de Sikasso Sira (The young dancers of Sikasso Sira)
1972
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Valse a Bobo' 1968

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Valse a Bobo (Waltz a Bobo)
1968
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'A la mode Bobolaise' 1983

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
A la mode Bobolaise (Bobolaise fashion)
1983
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Ali et Sita en soiree' 1974

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Ali et Sita en soiree (Ali and Sita in the evening)
1974
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Bobo a gogo' 1975

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Bobo a gogo
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'D’Adamo aux Beatles' 1969

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
D’Adamo aux Beatles (From Adamo to the Beatles)
1969
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Deux couples dansant le blues' 1979

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Deux couples dansant le blues (Two couples dancing the blues)
1979
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Fete au Volta dancing' 1982

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Fete au Volta dancing
1982
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Ford Fairlane decapotable' 1966

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Ford Fairlane decapotable (Ford Fairlane convertible)
1966
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'La 4L et son maitre' 1970

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
La 4L et son maitre (The 4L and his master)
1970
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'La cliente de la Calebasse d'or' 1969

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
La cliente de la Calebasse d’or (The client of the Golden Calabash)
1969
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Laissez-moi entrer' 1967

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Laissez-moi entrer (Let me in)
1967
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le diable noir' 1975

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le diable noir (The black devil)
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le Malien et ses chaussures a la mode' 1975

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le Malien et ses chaussures a la mode (Malian and his fashionable shoes)
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

 

Sanlé Sory’s Peuple de la Nuit portraits capture the vibrant youth culture, dance parties and flourishing music scene of his home city, a Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, West Africa. This expansive collection of images, taken between the years 1960-1985 have been unveiled for the first time in a stunning exhibition and book.

Recently unearthed from Sanlé’s personal archive, Peuple de la Nuit is an evocative tribute to the nightlife of a distant era. This collection of black-and-white photographs the carefree spirit of Sanlé’s subjects, including the musicians, dancers and lovers that graced some of Bobo’s hippest venues – Volta Dancing, Calebasse d’Or, Normandie and Dafra Bar.

Eager to portray the region’s unique energy and passion, Sory would set off towards the remote villages along the Kou Valley, north West of Bobo. Driving in his Volta Photo Citroen 2CV van carrying a few lights and a home-made sound system, Sanlé would stage his own Bals Poussière (dustball parties) which often lasted until well after sunrise – at which point the farmers and herders would head straight back to tend their fields and cattle.

Born in 1943 in Burkina Faso, back when it was still a French colony known as Republique de HauteVolta, Sanlé Sory began to take photographs in 1960 – the year the country regained independence. After cutting his teeth working as an apprentice to a Ghanian photographer for several years, by 1960 Sanlé had established his own studio, Volta Photo, in his hometown, Bobo-Dioulasso, which instantly became a cultural hub for the city’s most stylish residents – young and old, rich and poor.

After working long days there, Sory would often go out and shoot the vibrant nightlife of his hometown and surrounding areas, amassing hundreds of photos spanning several decades which remained undiscovered until well into his 70s.

Now exhibited for the very first time at the David Hill Gallery in London and coinciding with a book of the same name published by Stanley / Barker, Peuple de Nuit is a fascinating portrait of youth culture and the enigmatic night-time scene during the first decades of African independence.

 

SANLÉ SORY was born in 1943 in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Sanlé began to take photographs in 1960 and learnt his trade working as an apprentice to a Ghanaian photographer, where he was taught how to process and print photographs and how to use a Rolleiflex twin lens camera. Whilst working as a freelance reporter and shooting record covers, Sanlé decided studio photography was his calling and in 1960 had opened the Volta Photo studio in his hometown, Bobo-Dioulasso, which became an instant hit with locals. It was only at the age of 74 while living in obscurity that his work was discovered by the French record producer and archivist Florent Mazzoleni, who came across him while researching a project on West African music. A fan of Sory’s album covers, Mazzoleni went to meet his at his studio – only to find the photographer burning his vintage negatives. In 2013 he was given a solo show at the Institut Français du Burkina Faso in both Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso. 2017 saw the release of his first book Volta Photo 1960-1985 with an accompanying exhibition at David Hill Gallery. In 2018, his work was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, when he became the first African photographer to have a solo exhibition at an American museum. The was also an exhibition at the Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, and his work was part of the Autophoto at the Fondation Cartier, Paris.

Text from the David Hill Gallery website [Online] Cited 21st April 2019

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le musicien' 1967

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le musicien (The musician)
1967
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le quart d’heure rumba a la soiree privee' 1977

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le quart d’heure rumba à la soirée privée (The quarter of an hour rumba at the private party)
1977
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Le repos des danseurs' 1978

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Le repos des danseurs (The rest of the dancers)
1978
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'L'equilibriste' 1972

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
L’equilibriste (The Equilibrist)
1972
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les deux AMI 8' 1975

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les deux AMI 8
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les deux amourex de Dogona' 1972

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les deux amourex de Dogona (The two lovers of Dogona)
1972
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les noceurs de Banzon' 1972

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les noceurs de Banzon (Banzon’s swingers)
1972
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les sans soucis de Dogona' 1980

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les sans soucis de Dogona (The carefree Dogona)
1980
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Les Trois Cowboys de la Brousse' 1971

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Les Trois Cowboys de la Brousse (The Three Cowboys of the Bush)
1971
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Posons maintenant!' 1976

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Posons maintenant! (Let’s pose now!)
1976
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Sapeurs mossi de nuit' 1975

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Sapeurs mossi de nuit (Mossi Sapeurs of the night)
1975
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Surprise party en ville' 1974

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Surprise party en ville (Surprise party in town)
1974
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Yacouba Zero' 1970

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Yacouba Zero
1970
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Yeye le dur' 1973

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Yeye le dur (Yeye the hard)
1973
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Soirée dansante à la maison' 1968

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Soirée dansante à la maison (Dancing party at home)
1968
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943) 'Une biere pour moi' 1980

 

Sanlé Sory (West African, b. 1943)
Une biere pour moi (A beer for me)
1980
Gelatin silver print
© Sanlé Sory

 

 

David Hill Gallery
345 Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington,
London W10 6HA, UK

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 4.30pm
Other times by appointment

David Hill Gallery website

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