A Perfect Paris Photo 2011???

Ladies & gentlemen, presenting the Star of the fair....

'Christian Tagliavini'

Don't take my word for it, see Wayne Ford's opinion here!

Don't forget to 'Cut Out & Keep' all the numerous articles, including Télérama & Le Figaro magazines. If you have any enquiries about his work please contact the gallery. 

Series: Dame di Cartone, Cubism II

©Christian Tagliavini

For those of you not on our mailing list we will be sending out more information on the limited edition portfolios of 1503 & Dame di Cartone & our forthcoming Collecting course amongst any other news.

It has been a big weekend for photography as well as Paris Photo, including the huge record breaking sale of Andreas Gursky's Rhine II photograph selling for $4.3 million at a Christies auction in New York. See the Guardian's coverage for a giggle.

My trip began with a visit to Sotheby's for a few glasses of champagne whilst viewing the work on display before heading to a party hosted by the wonderful Chantal Sanglier. Calling at one of my favourite places in Paris to pick up some macaroons to take to the party. Ladurée was as usual full of patient customers queuing (at 7.30pm) for their famous culinary delights. It is a lovely store that is well worth a visit. 

  

I even had time to take some blog pictures whilst I waited with my good friend Silvia. 

These are the cakes that got away... or not. They do say that you 'eat with your eyes' after all.

That night the Eiffel Tower was more beautiful than ever, with the top submerged in the clouds & a misty night completed the romantic spectacle.

I couldn't help but go outside & peek at it several times during the course of the evening.

One of the other guest insisted that she take a photo (with my phone) of me to remember the moment.

I'm so glad she did as this is the result!

Spooky, but it expresses how I felt perfectly blissful...

With such stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, you would have felt the same.

(Mary, this one's for you) 

So then Friday rolled around, with a bright brisk, sunny day to lift the spirits. Once breakfast had been consumed it was time to head off to the fair. 

Paris Photo 2011 has now moved from the Carousel to the Grand Palais. To get an idea of the size of the place watch the video on this link. I much prefer the space, with more room & much easier to navigate. (Make sure you eat well before going though as there aren't masses of eats to choose from.) 

A view from the top

Having a roof of glass also has it's obvious problems, with UV light flooding in (albeit from a great height) some galleries did take the necessary precautions. 

In this poor photograph you can just about see a wonderful bit of curation in the JP Morgan "Collection Privée". On the left are Bernd & Hilla Becher's Gas Tanks, then to the right J.D. Okhai Ojeikere's hairstyles. (A grid of Blossfeldt's work would have been a wonderful hat trick) 

© Bernd & Hilla Becher

Gas Tanks (spheric), 1963 - 1983

9 black & white photographs

© J.D. Okhai Ojeikere

9 Gelatin-silver prints

60 x 50 cm each

Untitled, 1970 - 1979

Georges Rousse

Another highlight was seeing the latest work from a photographer I have long admired, Georges Rousse. He has inverted his own technique. I think a blog dedicated to him alone is in order at some point in the near future... 

Of course there was a Japanese photographer whose work made an impression, Miyako Ishiuchi. I couldn't find my favourite image online, but here is an installation shot from the Third Gallery stand. 

Miyako Ishiuchi

It is hard to avoid mentioning Irving Penn with works like this on display:

Irving Penn

14 Cigarettes

1990

The print is exquisite & the strength is in its simplicity, with every detail beautifully rendered.  

Erich Mirozek

This beautiful photo montage was another favourite with a red spot, so alas this is where the info on the photographer ends as I have not found anything else about them online. If any of you out there know of their work please post a comment. The Guillermo de Osmo gallery based in Madrid who sold the work was a new one to me, but an interesting find nonetheless.

Here is all the info from the label I have

Saturday morning I spent doing reviews at the Nofound Photofair. A very enjoyable start to the day, before an amazing lunch with Mark from Genesis Imaging, photography agent David Birkitt & others at the best place in town (I keep my lips sealed on this one or I will never get a table next year). 

The parties continued Saturday night. This was a very French affair with friends old & new in attendance. 

As usual the work came out, with many discussions & of course plenty of wine & fabulous food!

I had arrived with the artist Lisa Creagh, staying late then onto a newfound friends apartment to see her fabulous work & stunning jazz archive. (More about this in the future I am sure)

Then after going to bed at 6am breakfast & a lovely sunny morning greeted me. It was sad to leave Paris on such a gorgeous day...

However, it does encourage you to go back before too long.

Where else could a view like this be had. The architecture is thrilling & even better in the sun.

If only we had wide avenues like this to enjoy every day. Till then I must be content with photos...

The 'Conversation' and post-pondering...

Many thanks to all of you who attended the 'In Conversation with Emily Allchurch' last night. It was a packed house with standing room only, so we were thrilled. As ever, Emily was her usual charming self, sharing her working methods freely with the audience and answering questions. One of the subjects that came up was her archive (image library) which is the first step to making each of her images. She took 6,000 photographs on her trip to Tokyo then created the image library from these, separating the photographs into multiple categories. Each category is then on hand to dip into when needed.

One of the questions at the end of our 'conversation' was about the innate value of this archive. This question was fascinating as archives are often found long after the fact, having a practical function at the time of creation, then forgotten about. Emily's images of objects, trees, walls, graffiti, people, temples, bridges...the list is endless - all in little folders will be clues of the future to her work. I gave the example of Picasso's preparatory drawings for Guernica that give so much information about the editing and creative process he went through to create his masterpiece. Emily's examples of her photo's before they were placed into her complicated assemblages put into perspective just how intricate her working methods are.

Finding photographs personal or otherwise, when curated into an archive can become a wonderful source of inspiration and observation about the world. Being nosey is the key ingredient to a great photographic life, however that life may manifest itself. The internet of course lets us be nosier than ever before. As a result my little forage online looking for archives and vernacular photography brought Thriftaholic blog to my attention. I have many books on found photography and love the low-fi nature of them, with a subject linking many photographs together. Just as Emily's source images individually are records waiting to be assembled, archives have this potential too. Don't discount the random image, you never know when it may come in handy as a part of something whole.

Photo credit for 'In Conversation': Paul Blakemore