"I really believe there are things
which nobody would see unless I photographed them"
The exhibition of Diane Arbus at the Jeu de
Paume does not propose a theme or an introduction through different periods
link to her biography. The 200 pictures are blended. This is an exhibition
without any text or quotation of the artist or from the curator. Notebooks,
critical texts, publications or other media are confined to the end of the
exhibition, in two rooms. So, our perception is free of any influence.
Moreover, the scenography is refined. The monochrome photography inspired the grey
and white colours of the walls.
It is just the photography and us. We are in
the play of the photograph, an intimate relationship captured thanks to the
character’s looking towards the spectator, taken from the front with a close
shot. We feel in these photos the influence of her experience for fashion
magazines like Vogue, Seventeen or Glamour. She perfectly controls the camera,
the light and the depth of field.
Despite the absence of organization, it’s a
real immersion into the work of Diane Arbus which reveals us an harmonious and
coherent work. It shows, as her will, what it makes you different, original, unique.
It is why she photographs people considered as freaks or marginal like twins,
triplets, mentally disabled, nudists, beast fair, atypical couples. These photos
depicted a wide range of the American society from the fifties to the
seventies, always with a smile, an humoristic touch. She also takes photos of figures
(Jorge Luis Borges, Marcello Mastroianni…) or unknown people in order to work
on facial expressions, which are naturals, familiars and always convey a
strange feeling of uneasiness. Diane Arbus succeed in proving that everyone has
a part of strangeness. But she never generates sadness, as Plato said, she
wants to seize on the wonderful in the difference.
Diane Arbus at the Jeu de Paume
Paris, 10-18-2011 to 02-05-2012
Diane Arbus at the Jeu de Paume
Paris, 10-18-2011 to 02-05-2012
