THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM · the unbearable lightness the 1980s...

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THE 1980S COMMUNICATION AND PARTNERSHIPS DEPARTMENT PRESS KIT THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM 24 FEBRUARY 2016 - 23 MAY 2016

Transcript of THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM · the unbearable lightness the 1980s...

Page 1: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM · the unbearable lightness the 1980s photograph, film 24 february 2016 - 23 may 2016 contents 1. press release page 3 2. exhibition

THE 1980S

COMMUNICATION AND PARTNERSHIPS DEPARTMENT

PRESS KIT

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESSTHE 1980SPHOTOGRAPH, FILM24 FEBRUARY 2016 - 23 MAY 2016

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THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM24 FEBRUARY 2016 - 23 MAY 2016

CONTENTS

1. PRESS RELEASE PAGE 3

2. EXHIBITION PLAN PAGE 5

3. LIST OF WORKS EXHIBITED PAGE 6

4. WALL LABELS PAGE 11

5. SELECTION OF MAJOR WORKS PAGE 13

6. THE PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY OF THE CENTRE POMPIDOU PAGE 17

7. PHOTOGRAPY ACQUISITION GROUP PAGE 18

8. PRESS VISUALS PAGE 19

9. PRATICAL INFORMATION PAGE 25

communication and partnerships department 75191 Paris cedex 04

directorBenoît Parayretelehone00 33 (0)1 44 78 12 87email [email protected]

press officerElodie Vincenttelephone00 33 (0)1 44 78 48 56email [email protected]

www.centrepompidou.fr

15 February 2016

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PRESS RELEASE

THE UNBEREABLE LIGHTNESS THE 1980S PHOTOGRAPH, FILM 24 FEBRUARY - 23 MAY 2016 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY, FORUM-1

Heterogeneous, elusive, painful, fantastical, still too close, as light-hearted as they were serious, the Eighties were full of contrasts and paradoxes. With films and photographs from its collections, the Centre Pompidou cast a fresh eye on this decade in an exhibition featuring over 20 artists and some 60 works in a completely new circuit.

From Florence Paradeis to Jean-Paul Goude, and from Karen Knorr to Présence Panchounette by

way of Martin Parr and Pierre and Gilles, the works selected mostly express criticism of culture

and society through various strategies, such as irony, realistic or imaginative staging, pastiche,

subverted sets and odes to artifice. The history of Eighties photography somewhat eludes

comprehension even today.

While neo-documentary forms (such as “The Düsseldorf School”, the photographic project of

DATAR, the Interdepartmental Delegation for Territorial Development and Regional Attractiveness)

were positively received by critics overall, the same was not true of “manufactured”, staged

or possibly “Baroque” photography, which represented much of the work produced in the

Eighties. Beyond the sometimes too all-inclusive concept of post-modernism, the Eighties saw

the emergence of new issues that were both poetic and political. Hybridisation, humour, irony,

eroticism and nostalgia are all possible keys to interpreting the art of this period, particularly its

photography.

Mainly dedicated to the Western and American scene of the 1980s, well-represented in the Centre

Pompidou’s collection, this exhibition reflects the geopolitical and economic order of a time when

the ideological divisions between North and South, East and West, capitalist democracies and

centralised totalitarian regimes were being swept aside by the new global economy.

With a mix of famous works and others awaiting rediscovery, the exhibition draws us into the

aesthetics and sometimes popular iconography typical of this period and geography.

communication and partnerships department 75191 Paris cedex 04 director Benoît Parayre telephone 00 33 (0)1 44 78 12 87 email [email protected] press officerElodie Vincent telephone 00 33 (0)1 44 78 48 56 email [email protected] www.centrepompidou.fr

Agnès Bonnot :

Untitled, 1982

40,2 x 26,4 cm

Cibachrome Print

Collection Centre Pompidou, Paris

Centre Pompidou / PH. Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP

© Agnès Bonnot / Agence Vu’

15 February 2016

In partnership with

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In France, the Eighties were crucial for photography in terms of art and heritage. Several major photography

museums and collections sprang up or developed under a new impulse. At the same time, a new generation

of “painter-photographers” appeared, who were keen to do away with the barrier between photography and

painting and rebelled against the language of the previous generation. This new photography, often highly

“pictorialist” in Western countries, developed forms that were closely connected with technical advances in

this area: the availability of good-quality colour photography, the possibilities provided by large formats and the

instantaneousness of Polaroid. The meeting between these new production methods and the search for different

forms and themes in classic photography created another paradox: works that were openly anti-documentary

proved to be such an accurate reflection of the reality they came from that in the end they were its best

representation.

The exhibition of the Centre Pompidou brings together for the first time the works of BazileBustamante, Agnès Bonnot, David Buckland, Ellen Carey, Clegg & Guttmann, Tom Drahos, Jean-Paul Goude, Hergo, Karen Knorr, Elizabeth Lennard, Joachim Mogarra, Patrick Nagatani, Paul de Nooijer, Alice Odilon, Florence Paradeis, Martin Parr, Pierre et Gilles, Présence Panchounette, Alix Cléo Roubaud, Sandy Skoglund,

In partnership with

On social networks :

#InsoutenableLegerete@centrepompidou https://twitter.com/centrepompidou

https://www.facebook.com/centrepompidou

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2. EXHIBITION PLAN

(Dis)appearing

The duplicity of artifice

Class practices

The place of decor

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3. LIST OF WORKS EXHIBITED

1/ THE PLACE OF DECOR

Mark Wilcox (1959, United Kingdom )

Calling the shots, 1984

U-matic video, PAL, color, sound, 12’

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1992

Alix Cléo Roubaud (1952, Mexico, Mexico; 1983,

Paris, France)

Untitled, 1980 – 1981

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of Jacques Roubaud, 2011

Elizabeth Lennard (1953, New York, United

States)

Brick Wall, Staten Island, New York, 1978

Painted gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1980

Elizabeth Lennard (1953, New York, United

States)

Les gratte-ciel s’écartèlent, 1978

Painted gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1980

BAZILEBUSTAMANTE

The RVLC, 1984

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Présence PanchounetteSuch a taste, 1974

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence PanchounetteGloomy TV, 1974

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette The taste of the others – Aslan School, 1974

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette Out of step, 1976

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

I got my mojo workin’baby, 1980

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence PanchounetteMarilyn chooses the chair, 1981

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

The same fools wander another time , 1982

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

The dreams of Eric, 1983

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

We are not Miro, 1984

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

The good pair, 1987

Gelatin silver print

Courtesy Semiose Gallery, Paris

Présence Panchounette

Fake brick silkscreen, 1978

Framed silkscreen

David Rochline (1951, Malakoff, France – 2015, Malakoff, France)

Maquette pour une carte de vœux de Christian

Lacroix pour l’année 1992,1991

Private collection, Paris

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2/ CLASS PRACTICES

Florence Paradeis (1964, Anthony, France)

Untitled – Series 1 : 1988-1989, 1988

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou,musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Agnès Bonnot (1949, Marsaz, France)

Untitled, 1982

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 1983

Martin Parr (1952, Epsom, United Kingdom)

The Cost of Living – Royal Commonwealth Society

Function for a Summer Evening, 1986

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Martin Parr (1952, Epsom, United Kingdom)

The Cost of Living – Punk with her Mother, 1986

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Martin Parr (1952, Epsom, United Kingdom)

The Cost of Living – Snowdonia,

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Martin Parr (1952, Epsom, United Kingdom)

The Cost of Living – Wedding Preparation, 1986

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

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Purchase 2008

3/ THE DUPLICITY OF ARTIFICE

Patrick Nagatani (1945, Chicago, United States)

Passage of Time – Unidentified Flying Objects,

F-15s of the 49th TAC Fighter Wing, Holloman Air

Force Base, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, 1990

Chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of Ixis Corporate & Investment Bank, 2006

Paul de Nooijer (1943, Eindhoven, Netherlands)

Electriclawnmowingiron, 1977

Painted gelatin silver print, collage

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1984

Paul de Nooijer (1943, Eindhoven, Netherlands)

Transformation by holding times, 1976

16 mm film, colour, 4’

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1998

Sandy Skoglund (1946, Boston, Etats-Unis)

Radioactive Cats, 1980

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Boyd Webb (1947, Christchurch, Nouvelle-Zélande)

Denizen, 1989

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1990

Tom Drahos (1947, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech republic)

Untitled, 1981

Painted gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Tom Drahos

(1947, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech republic)

Untitled, 1981

Painted gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Tom Drahos (1947, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech republic)

Untitled, 1981

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Tom Drahos

(1947, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech republic)

Untitled, 1981

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Joachim Mogarra (1954, Masdenverge, Spain)

Aswan dam, from the «Images of the World»

series, 1984

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Joachim Mogarra (1954, Masdenverge, Spain)

Stop-over at Papeete, from the «Images of the

World » series, 1985

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

Joachim Mogarra (1954, Masdenverge, Spain)

Raid on Entebbé from the «Images of the World»

series, 1983

Gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Donation of the Caisse des Dépôts, 2006

4/ (DIS)APPEARING

Unglee (1949, Nice, France)

Radio-snake, 1980

16 mm film, colour, sound, 12’

Artist’s proof, 2015

Private collection

Alice Odilon (1959, Le Coteau, France)

Untitled, 1982

Silver gelatin print retouched

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1985

Alice Odilon (1959, Le Coteau, France)

Chrys, 1982

Gelatin silver print, retouched

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

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Purchase, 1985

Ellen Carey (1952, New York, United States)

Self-Portrait, 1984

Polaroid

Ellen Carey, Courtesy JHB Gallery, New York and

M+B Gallery, Los Angeles

Ellen Carey (1952, New York, United States)

Self-Portrait, 1984

Polaroid

Ellen Carey, Courtesy JHB Gallery, New York and

M+B Gallery, Los Angeles

Ellen Carey (1952, New York, United States)

Self-Portrait, 1987

Polaroid

Collection of Scott Osman

Ellen Carey (1952, New York,United States)

Self-Portrait, 1987

Polaroid

Ellen Carey, Courtesy JHB Gallery, New York and

M+B Gallery, Los Angeles

Ellen Carey (1952, New York, United States)

Self-Portrait, 1987

Polaroid

Ellen Carey, Courtesy JHB Gallery, New York and

M+B Gallery, Los Angeles

Hergo (1951, Cholet, France)

The Mythos series, 1989

Eleven gelatin silver print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Gift of the artist, 2014

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Grace revised and corrected, New York, 1978

Felt-tip and adhesive tape on cut-out paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Grace revised and corrected, New York, 1978

Digital gelatin silver print 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Grace revised and corrected, New York, 1978

Cut-out Ektachrome

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

A One-man Show – Sketch for hat, New York, 1979

Felt-tip, ballpoint pen and adhesive tape on paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Grace revised and corrected, Nassau, 1980

Ballpoint pen and adhesive tape on paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Libertango, New York, 1980

Ballpoint pen and adhesive tape on paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Libertango - Beacon Theatre, New York, 1981

Ballpoint pen and felt-tip on paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Cubist Grace, New York, 1981

Digital gelatin silver print 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Blue-black in black on grey, New York, 1981

Digital print mounted on aluminum 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Libertango, New York, 1981

Digital gelatin silver print 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Libertango – Sketch for costume, New York, 1981

Felt-tip, gouache and adhesive tape on paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Libertango – Sketch for costume, New York, 1981

Felt-tip and adhesive tape paper

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Constructivist-inspired maternity dress, in

collaboration with Antonio Lopez, New York, 1979

Digital print mounted on aluminum 2015

Private collection

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Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Cry now, laugh later, New York, 1982

Digital gelatin silver print 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Demolition Man, Londres, 1982

Digital gelatin silver print 2015

Private collection

Jean-Paul Goude (1940, Saint-Mandé, France)

Slave to the rhythm, New York, 1986

Cut-out Ektachrome

Private collection

Pierre et Gilles (1949, La Roche-sur-Yon, France ;

1953, Sainte-Adresse, France)

Etienne Daho, 1984

Painted chromogenic print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 2015

David Buckland (1949, Londres, United Kingdom)

The Numerologist, 1983

Cibachrome print

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

State purchase, 1985. Attribution in 1988

Clegg & Guttmann

(1957, Dublin, Irelande ; 1957, Jerusalem, Israel)

The Chess Players, 1985

Cibachromes under diasec

Centre Pompidou, musée national d’art moderne

Purchase, 1987

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4. WALL LABELS

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS

Heterogeneous, elusive, painful, fantastical, simultaneously light-hearted and serious, the Eighties were

rife with paradoxes. In France, photography conquered institutions and moved into the field of the arts,

while the new generation known as «painter-photographers» turned away from a practice doggedly

focused on the specific features of the medium. Sometimes dubbed «pictorialist», this movement gave rise

to unprecedented forms closely linked with contemporary technical developments, such as the arrival of

high-quality colour photography, large formats, and the instantaneousness provided by Polaroid. Paradoxi-

cally, these openly anti-documentary photographs sometimes proved such an accurate reflection of the

reality they evidenced that they were often its most effective representation. With a strong critical dimen-

sion, they addressed the great paradigms emerging in contemporary society: individualism and theatrica-

lity within the social sphere, the subordination to consumption and the exhaustion of modern culture. Film

makers and photographers confronted each other using various strategies such as irony, realistic or

imaginative staging, pastiche, subverted sets and odes to artifice.

THE PLACE OF DECOR The term «decor» has several meanings. Its etymology, decorum, evokes propriety: something we are

supposed to aim for. It can mean an ornament, and also a deceptive appearance; an illusion; a stage set.

This threefold definition reflects the ambivalence of photography and experimental film in the Eighties.

This was because many works questioned the primacy of appearance, which, in the age of AIDS and

Thatcherism, masked reality in favour of the proprieties, offering the world a model of illusory accomplish-

ment. The omnipresence of «decor» thus became a pretext for challenging bourgeois society. What was

staged, and what broke through was the reality of society behind the walls and ornaments. To reflect this,

artists mingled techniques: photographers used paint, considering photography as an object, even creating

frames for their works, and using mise en abîme to blend reality with fiction.

CLASS PRACTICES

Many artists observed and recorded middle-class codes and attitudes during the Eighties, thus highligh-

ting Pierre Bourdieu’s assertion that social background determines a lifestyle. Despite the rebellions of

1968, ten years on, there was no change in the class divisions that structured society according to

constantly-changing factors (capital, education, access to information, etc.). Society remained totally

bourgeois; capitalism flourished. In order to factor in social practices or stage their criticism, photo-

graphers and film directors played around with effects of photographic veracity. They made ironic use of

documentary-style effects of accumulation, casting a falsely objective eye on so-called daily situations, or

pushed theatricality to the point of arousing a sense of incongruity. In this way, they all built up a new

language fit for reconstructing the narratives of contemporary society.

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THE DUPLICITY OF ARTIFICE

The Eighties were marked by a taste for artifice that took root in areas as varied as photography,

experimental film, fashion and popular culture in general. The disaffection blighting this decade,

particularly in the eyes of art historians, lays in the artificial character of the images it engendered,

and their exuberance. After the asceticism of conceptual photography, the art of staging was now

predominant and fully exploited the advanced techniques provided by the photo industry. Like painters

and sculptors, photographers dreamed up genuine installations – interior scenes or fanciful settings

– designed to be photographed, mingling reality and fiction to produce a curious mixture that might be

described as «queer» Surrealism. The anxieties of a self-satisfied society were thus sublimated by

calling upon the bizarre and absurd.

(DIS)APPEARING

Offering oneself to the general view, being seen and standing out are all functions of the portrait and

self-portrait. The period made this genre its particular field of play, questioning the ideas of identity,

social status, convention and representation. While the portrait traditionally brings us closer to the

subject, the portraits of the Eighties take us further away from it; they hide as much as they reveal, like

a mask that conceals the «I». They enabled artists to reinvent themselves or imagine the Other for the

space of a shot. Androgyny, the make-up hiding people’s faces, the decorative motifs that engulfed bodies

and the references to codified aesthetics (Flemish and Renaissance paintings) were all areas explored by

artists in order to highlight individualities drowning in a society that constrained and absorbed them. The

idea of a «natural» state was denied. For a decade, it ceased to be sought after, because these photo-

graphs delineated a world so comfortable, if rigid, that it assuaged the contemporary thirst for well-being

and peace.

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5. SELECTION OF MAJOR WORKS

BAZILEBUSTAMANTE (Bernard Bazile, 1952, Meymac ; Jean-Marc Bustamante, 1952, Toulouse)

Le RVLC, 1984

Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne

The name BAZILEBUSTAMANTE conceals two artists: Bernard Bazile and Jean-

Marc Bustamante. Working together from 1983 to 1986, they turned away from

conceptual photography to focus on Baroque decorative forms, mainly used in

painting, particularly the «photographic painting» vein. The effects of accumula-

tion, precious materials and framing gave their corpus a strongly pictorial dimen-

sion. Meanwhile, the flat-backed armchair and «table en cabaret» of 1760 com-

missioned from the cabinetmaker RVLC (Roger Vandercruse, aka Lacroix)

crystallised its critical aspect, emphasising the power of the economic empires at

the root of the bourgeois lifestyle.

ELISABETH LENNARDLes gratte-ciel s’écartèlent, 1978

Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne

The American photographer and film director Elizabeth Lennard makes photography a

linchpin for cinema and painting through painted or filmed photographs. Here she

covers her black and white prints on matt paper with a thin layer of oil paint. Colourisa-

tion gives her pictures a textured aspect and living feel that liberate them from

photographic techniques. The artist considers colour a means for cutting off from the

subject. For example, the walls and buildings of New York document our reality, while

colour distances us from it. These relics of an urban landscape take on a completely

new aspect that illustrates the artist’s detachment from post modernism.

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ELLEN CAREYSelf-portraits, 1987

Through her work in large format Polaroid, Ellen Carey explores the concepts of self and identity. Through an

expertise that foreshadowed digital technologies, she incorporated psychedelic motifs and mathematical

formulas into her portraits by making play with exposure to light, and colourisation. Her self-portraits record

her physical appearance without exposing it, while a mysterious geometry evokes the hidden order of nature,

or the emergence of the soul on the surface of the image. With this series, Ellen Carey materialises the

invisible, and gives shape to a reality imperceptible to the eye or camera lens.

Self-Portrait, 1987

Ellen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New

York

and M+B, Los Angeles

Self-Portrait, 1987

Ellen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New York

and M+B, Los Angeles.

Collection of Scott Osman

Self-Portrait, 1987

Ellen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New York

and M+B, Los Angeles

HERGOMythos Series, 1989

Sabine, 1990

Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne

Portraits of young people on the threshold of adulthood in the Eighties, the photographs in the «Mythos» series

represent the spirit of a generation. Each model embodies the decade, as androgynous silhouettes set against

a backdrop of fabric with geometric patterns characteristic of Eighties graphics, with faces hardened by

contrasting make-up, and a touch of the rock or post-punk. Some faces are deliberately blurred, so that the

image acts as a projection screen. Through their elaborate appearance, the models construct and assert their

personal mythologies – hence the title of the series: «Mythos».

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KAREN KNORRGentlemen, 1983

Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne

During the Eighties, Karen Knorr’s work as a photographer focused on the ironic

staging of patriarchal values of Britain’s high society, with its settings and

ideology. The “Gentlemen” series was produced in London in the exclusively

male clubs of the St James’ neighbourhood, where the layout of the space and

interiors is governed by specific laws of social representation and distinction.

Here Karen Knorr combines theatricality and a deliberately distanced narrative

content. With its interference between text and image, “Gentlemen” contributed

to the renewal of documentary photographic forms of the period.

PATRICK NAGATANIPassage of Time - Unidentified Flying Objects ...., 1990

Centre Pompidou, Paris

The theatrical aspect of Patrick Nagatani’s photographs illustrates

his experience as a film set model maker. His staging, similar to that

of a director, uses a specific vocabulary consisting of forced perspec-

tive and play on the depth of field, blurring the borders between real

and artificial. Seeking to question what he calls «the facade of

representation», he builds up dream-like or nightmarish landscapes

in his photographs, where all the components contribute to a

distinctly bizarre narrative, solidly contained within the limits of the

frame.

SANDY SKOGLUNDRadioactive Cats, 1980

Centre Pompidou, Paris

Les photographies de Sandy Skoglund sont le résultat d’un long et

minutieux travail de mise en scène. Prenant place dans des univers

imaginaires, intérieurs monochromes et anxiogènes, les humains

sont envahis par des figures en terre cuite modelées par l’artiste

(chats, poissons, renards…) qui confèrent un caractère surréaliste à la

composition.

Sandy Skoglund élabore de toutes pièces la scénographie, détermi-

nant au préalable chaque élément de l’environnement et de l’éclai-

rage ainsi que la disposition de ses modèles, dans une démarche

caractéristique de la « photographie mise en scène » où l’apparente

réalité n’est qu’imposture.

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FLORENCE PARADEISUntitled - Series 1 : 1988-1989, 1988

Centre Pompidou, Paris

Florence Paradeis composes seemingly banal situations and reconstructs the micro-rites of daily life. These modern genre

scenes, micro-reports on ordinary middle class life, are only instantaneous in appearance: the pictures in fact result from posed

sessions where reality is saturated to create artificiality and theatrical gestures. In an approach directly opposite to capturing the

«decisive moment», Florence Paradeis prefers to stage the present rather than the fleeting instant. This orchestration of a daily

life made fictional aims to question the duration of the photographic image, and to «re-play» reality rather than represent it.

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6. THE PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY OF THE CENTRE POMPIDOU Located in the Forum on level -1 of the building, the idea behind the new photography gallery of 200 m2,

is to make more generous use of the rich and varied photographic resources of the musée national d’art

moderne by offering visitors fresh interpretations of a collection containing 40,000 prints and over 60,000

negatives.

With free access, this new space offers four exhibitions a year.

The annual programme of the Galerie de photographies is structured around three subjects:

- Modern photography from the 1920s to the 1930s,

- Contemporary photographic creation from the 1980s to the present day,

- A themed and cross-cutting subject addressing some of the major issues of 20th and 21st century art.

In 2014-2015, the public was able to discover the following exhibitions: Jacques-André Boiffard, a short spell

in surrealism, What is photography ?, Anna and Bernhard Blume, transcendental photography, Carte blanche

PMU 2015 to Thierry Fontaine, Varda/Cuba.

In 2016, the photography gallery is presenting:

The unbeareable lightness.The 1980’s. Photograph, film (24 February - 23 May 2016)

Louis Stettner (15 June -12 September 2016)

Carte blanche PMU 2016 ( 28 September -17 October 2016)

Brassaï (9 November 2016 - 30 January 2017)

The PMU has been the loyal partner of the Galerie de photographies since its opening in 2014.

For 6 years, the PMU has been committed to contemporary photographic creation and has given carte

blanche to photographers so that they can offer us their take on the world of betting, which might normal-

ly be considered foreign to them. The selected photographer receives €20,000 in funding for the creation

of an original project, a publication for Editions Filigranes and an exhibition at the Galerie de photogra-

phies of the Centre Pompidou.

«Jacques-André Boiffard, a short spell in surrealism» Exhibition 5 November 2014 - 2 February 2015

In partnership with

«What is photography ? » Exhibition 4 March -1st June 2015

«Anna and Bernhard Blume, transcendental photography» Exhibition 1st July - 21 September 2015

«Varda/Cuba» Exhibition11 November 2015 - 1st February 2016

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7. PHOTOGRAPHY ACQUISITION GROUP GAP (PHOTOGRAPHY ACQUISITION GROUP) OF THE SOCIÉTÉ DES AMIS DU MUSÉE NATIONAL D’ART MODERNE

On the occasion of the opening of the photography gallery in November 2014, the new photography

acquisition group (GAP, Photography Acquisition Group) was created among the members of the Société

des amis du musée.

This acquisition committee aims to help enrich the collection of historical and contemporary photographs

of the Centre Pompidou. In the context of programming for the Galerie

de photographies, acquisitions made with the help of this group will be presented.

Comprised of a group of enthusiasts sharing the common aim of enriching the museum's collections

and extending their knowledge in the field of modern and contemporary photography,

the committee is led by Clément Chéroux, chief curator of the Department of Photography, Karolina

Ziebinska-Lewandowska, curator in the Department of Photography and Frédéric Paul, curator

at the division of contemporary collections, Musée national d’art moderne.

Under the guidance of Bernard Blistène, director of the Musée national d’art moderne, the curators sub-

mit acquisition files which members vote on by a simple majority.

Through this acquisition circle, the members of the GAP forge a link with the team of the Musée national

d’art moderne while developing their perspectives of photography on the occasion of visits to exhibitions,

artist workshops, private collections and favoured exchanges with curators and specialists. The group

brings together an international network of photography enthusiasts who feed into the Centre Pompidou's

photography acquisition policy on the occasion of discussions and prospecting trips.

The annual financial commitment per member amounts to €5,000 which is tax deductible up to 66 % (i.e.

an actual cost of €1,700) and qualifies them for numerous benefits.

More information : Océane Arnaud, Development Officer for the Société des Amis du musée national d’art

moderne – Centre Pompidou, [email protected]

+ 00 33 1 44 78 47 45

amisdumusee.centrepompidou.fr

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01. BazilbustamanteLe RVLC, 198485,5 x 68 cmCibachrome print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / P.Migeat/Dist. RMN-GP© droits réservés

02. Elizabeth LennardLes gratte-ciel s’écartèlent, vers 197846,4 x 31,1 cmPainted gelatin silver print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© MNAM-CCI / A.Rzepka / Dist. RMN-GP© Elizabeth Lennard

8. PRESS VISUALS

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03. Karen KnorrGentlemen, 1983Gelatin silver print, 2007Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / Dist. RMN-GP© Karen Knorr

05.Martin ParrThe Cost of Living - Wedding Preparation, 198661 x 70,5 cmChromogenic print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / J-C.Planchet / Dist. RMN-GP© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

04. Martin Parr The Cost of Living - Punk with her Mother, 198661 x 70,5 cmChromogenic print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / J-C.Planchet / Dist. RMN-GP© Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

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07. Agnès Bonnot Untitled, 198240,2 x 26,4 cmCibachrome print Centre Pompidou, Paris

Centre Pompidou / P.Migeat / Dist. RMN-GP© Agnès Bonnot / Agence Vu’

06.Florence Paradeis

Untitled- Series 1 : 1988-1989, 1988100 x 120 cmChromogenic print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / G.Meguerditchian / Dist. RMN-GP© Florence Paradeis

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09. Sandy SkoglundRadioactive Cats, 1980Cibachrome printCentre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / Dist. RMN-GP© 1980 Sandy Skoglund

10. Paul de NooijerElectriclawnmowingiron, 1977Painted gelatin silver print, collageCentre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / Dist. RMN-GP

08. Nagatani PatrickPassage of Time - Unidentified Flying Objects , F-15s of the 49th TAC Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, 1990 63,5 x 78,7 cmChromogenic print Centre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / G.Meguerditchian / Dist. RMN-GP© Patrick Nagatani

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13. Ellen CareySelf-Portrait, 1987Polaroid 20 x 2460 x 50 cm, uniqueEllen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New Yorkand M+B, Los Angeles© Ellen Carey

12. Ellen CareySelf-Portrait, 1987Polaroid 20 x 2460 x 50 cm, uniqueEllen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New York and M+B, Los AngelesCollection of Scott Osman© Ellen Carey

11. Ellen CareySelf-Portrait, 1987Polaroid 20 x 2460 x 50 cm, uniqueEllen Carey, Courtesy of JHB Gallery, New Yorkand M+B, Los Angeles© Ellen Carey

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14. Jean-Paul GoudeBlue-black in black on grey, New York, 1981Digital print mounted on aluminum Private collection © Jean-Paul Goude

16.HergoFrom the Mythos Series Sabine, 199023,7 x 17,7 cmGelatin silver printCentre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / G.Meguerdit-chian / Dist. RMN-GP© Hergo

17. HergoFrom the Mythos SeriesSophie, 199423,7 x 17,7 cmGelatin silver printCentre Pompidou, Paris

© Centre Pompidou / G.Meguerdit-chian / Dist. RMN-GP© Hergo

15. Jean-Paul GoudeCry now, laugh later, New York 1982Digital gelatin silver print 2015Private collection

© Jean-Paul Goude

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9. PRATICAL INFORMATION

25

Centre Pompidou

75191 Paris cedex 04

telephone

00 33 (0)1 44 78 12 33

metro

Hôtel de Ville, Rambuteau

Opening hours

Exhibition open every day

from 11 am to 9 pm

except on Tuesday

Closed on May 1st

Price

Free admission

www.centrepompidou.fr

CHÂTEAUX DE SABLE :

ARCHITECTURES DE RÊVE

JEAN-YVES JOUANNAIS

UNTIL 7 MARCH 2016

press officer

Dorothée Mireux

01 44 78 46 60

[email protected]

ANSELM KIEFER

UNTIL 18 APRIL 2016

Galerie 1, Level 6

press officer

Elodie Vincent

01 44 78 48 56

[email protected]

GÉRARD FROMANGER

17 FEBRUARY - 16 MAY 2016

Galerie du musée, galerie art

graphique, Level 4

press officer

Céline Janvier

01 44 78 49 87

[email protected]

CHER(E)S AMI(E)S

HOMAGE TO DONORS OF THE

CONTEMPORARY COLLECTIONS:

PART 1 / GIFTS AND DONATIONS

STARTING 16 MARCH 2016

Museum, Level 4

press officer

Anne-Marie Pereira

01 44 78 40 69

[email protected]

FOCUS AT THE MUSEUM:

HOMAGE TO VITTORIO GREGOTTI

30 MARCH - 16 MAY 2016

Museum, Level 5

press officer

Dorothée Mireux

01 44 78 46 60

[email protected]

PAUL KLEE

L’IRONIE À L’ŒUVRE

6 APRIL- 1ER AUGUST 2016

Galerie 2, Level 6

press officer

Anne-Marie Pereira

01 44 78 40 69

[email protected]

PIERRE PAULIN

11 MAY - 22 AUGUST 2016

Galerie Sud, Level 1

press officer

Céline Janvier

01 44 78 49 87

[email protected]

Karolina

Ziebinska-Lewandowska

curator, photography

department at the Musée national

d’art moderne

In collaboration with Marie Auger,

Emmanuelle Etchecopar-Etchart,

Jonathan Pouthier

PRATICAL INFORMATION AT THE SAME TIME IN THE CENTRE POMPIDOU CURATOR