At the Tuileries, the art center dedicated to images from the 19th century to the present day is celebrating its anniversary with two women with strong temperaments.
The cold autumn rain fell Friday evening on the line of visitors waiting to enter the narrow Jeu de Paume building to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this Parisian temple of photography, Place de la Concorde. No matter, they waited cheerfully, as if this young age was a guarantee of inextinguishable freedom and guaranteed celebration. Whether it is Chris Dercon, new general director of the Cartier Foundation, Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of the National Museum of Modern Art, or Philippe Chancel, pillar of the Rencontres d’Arles who photographed the piece Screens at the Odeon. “Since the Olympics, we have known that there is not a successful event in Paris without rain!”launched, at the opening of his speech, Quentin Bajac, director of the Jeu de Paume since January 2019.
Between umbrellas and speeches, there were traffic jams at the entrance where the stage was held, where Solange Salem-Rein, president of the Friends of the Jeu de Paume, welcomed the guests with all the courtesy of a mistress of ceremonies. “It reminds me of a scene from A Night in Casablanca of the Marx Brothers where 40 people try to fit into an ocean liner cabin”joked film buff Quentin Bajac, a photography scholar who is usually much more reserved. President of the Jeu de Paume, Alain-Dominique Perrin, force of nature at 81 years old, recounted in his cheerful way the odyssey of this art center and exhibition venue which in 2004 placed photography in what was the bastion modern and contemporary art.
Arrogant nudes
Quentin Bajac invited the American photographer Tina Barney, 78 years old, to join him on the podium, a star he has “managed to convince me to exhibit in Paris in just seven minutes”. Thin as a New Yorker, she reveals her sharp eye in “Family Ties” which depicts family relationships and positions of power in 55 large format, often striking images. Many Americans in the one-night audience, more chic, more urban, to wander between The Limo et The Nude Modelarrogant nudes that make the viewer feel very small.
But the event, “Travelling”, is carried by an absentee, the filmmaker and poet Chantal Akerman (1950-2015). This retrospective from Bozar in Brussels is a long, intimate and acute diary which unfolds upstairs like an interior journey. His video installations are regulars in museums and biennials, as in Lyon currently. His haunting film Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels (1975) tops the latest list established by the British Film Institute. It’s there, on multiple screens.
