New exhibit at The Frick Pittsburgh captures vibrant streets of Paris
Photographers who lived in Paris during the 1930s explored the city streets with such intense curiosity that their images still shape how many people visualize the City of Light.
Technology made it possible for these artists to paint with a lens, light and shadow because by the 1920s, Leica produced a miniature camera that was like an extension of the human eye. This particular model held a roll of black and white film that could make 36 exposures, said Sarah Hall, chief curator of The Frick Pittsburgh in Point Breeze.
“Street Photography to Surrealism: The Golden Age of Photography in France, 1900 to 1945” opens Saturday at The Frick Pittsburgh and runs through May 5. The show is free and features 101 black and white photographs, most made using the silver gelatin printing process.
“These are modernist photographs. They are about embracing and exploring this modern world,” Ms. Hall said. The pictures are “formally beautiful photographs that capture humanity in all its guises.”
There are 16 photographers represented, but the majority of the images were taken by seven artists. Some were born in France — Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Dora Maar. Ilse Bing, Brassai, Andres Kertesz and Man Ray came to Paris, where they marinated in the creative atmosphere, soaking up modernism, surrealism and cubism.
Cafes and the performing arts enriched their lives and work.
“This is Josephine Baker’s Paris as well. It’s less inhibited, more free spirited and forward thinking,” Ms. Hall said.
The pioneer photographer was Atget, a man determined to capture the architecture of Paris before 20th-century development erased the city’s alleys, buildings, courtyards and mansions. He also made portraits of shopkeepers, prostitutes, rag pickers and organ grinders. Atget also photographed Paris at night.
Ilse Bing, a German woman with a restless intellect, studied mathematics before moving to Vienna, where she studied architecture. There, she learned photography while writing her dissertation. When she arrived in Paris in 1930, she wrote, “I breathed the very air of Paris and felt ready to flourish.”
These photographers sought different perspectives, especially the bird’s-eye view and the worm’s-eye view, which helped them discover
new patterns and forms. As the exhibition showcases the work of the photographers, it is a series of smaller exhibitions within a larger frame.
“So much of this work is collected in major museums. A lot of these artists had dark rooms. Dora Maar had a studio with a colleague. She did magazine and fashion work, as did Man Ray,” Ms. Hall said.
Henri Cartier-Bresson took many images to capture what he called “the decisive moment.” He also worked on the crew of “The Rules of the Game,” a classic film by Jean Renoir that will be shown at The Frick Pittsburgh while the exhibition is on view.
Hungarian photographer Brassai liked to collaborate with his subjects and stage his pictures. He visited bordellos and took pictures of pimps, prostitutes and street gangs.
To supplement the text that accompanies the exhibition, Ms. Hall asked several local photographers to write their own responses to particular photographs. Sue Abramson, for example, wrote a short essay about Andre Kertesz’s image of Piet Mondrian’s pipe and glasses. She often used the picture while teaching photography.