Raymond Depardon at the BNF
Raymond Depardon is famous for his illustrated reports on socially deprived inner-city areas, for his numerous books presenting images interwoven in the text, but also for his films about everyday life in a changing society. He has often photographed different regions of France, but for this project, his ‘personal vision of France’, he was possessed by the crazy idea of travelling around France and using a 7 x 9 photographic chamber to portray the country in colour. He focuses on the consequences of urban development in the second half of the 20th century: factories for sale on the periphery of cities surrounded by dozens of car parks, semi-urban areas that swallow up small cities and villages, over-exploitation of coastal and high mountain areas… The second part of the exhibition is devoted to Raymond Depardon’s predecessors, especially Walker Evans and Paul Strand, which allow viewers to grasp the origin of the project. There is also a parallel exhibition in two parts at both Magnum galleries: Errance, 1999-2000 & Territoires 2005-2010, 4 Nov-8 Jan 2011, at 13 rue de l’Abbaye (6th); and Manhattan Out & Correspondance New-yorkaise 19 rue Hégésippe Moreau (18th), on now until 8 Jan.
Until 9 Jan. Tue-Sat, 10am-7pm; Sun, 1-7pm. Closed Mon. BNF François Mitterand, Large Gallery, Quai François-Mauriac, 13th. www.bnf.fr/
© Raymond Depardon / Magnum photos / CNAP
© Raymond Depardon / Magnum photos / CNAP
© Raymond Depardon / Magnum photos / CNAP