ARTISTS
Edward Weston: Becoming Modern
Drawn entirely from the prestigious collection of the Wilson Centre for Photography, the exhibition traces a decisive turning point in the history of photography. It highlights Weston鈥檚 radical shift from a refined, pictorialist style inspired by the codes of painting to a pared-down, precise, and direct modernist aesthetic.
It was during this period that the photographer refined his style, simplifying his framing, eliminating any artifice to focus on lines, shapes, and light. He photographed ordinary objects鈥搒hells, vegetables, bodies, stones鈥搘ith great formal rigour, transforming reality into visual motifs.
Through more than one hundred vintage prints, this unique exhibition brings together iconic works that have rarely, if ever, been shown in Paris. Alongside Weston鈥檚 masterpieces are major works in the pictorialist style by Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, and Anne Brigman, among others, offering a rich and unique perspective on two major conceptions of photography.
Weston contributed to this modern perspective on the periphery of the art world. He lived and worked in California, travelling to Mexico and distancing himself from the centres of power and influence. He sought neither effect nor provocation, but rather an accurate view, a form of silent revelation.
Exploring the richness of Weston鈥檚 work鈥揻rom nudes to still lifes, landscapes and intimate portraits of his close collaborators, such as Tina Modotti鈥搕he MEP pays tribute to a major figure of modernist photography. Many of his most iconic images are exhibited in their original form, hand-printed by the artist himself.
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Drawn entirely from the prestigious collection of the Wilson Centre for Photography, the exhibition traces a decisive turning point in the history of photography. It highlights Weston鈥檚 radical shift from a refined, pictorialist style inspired by the codes of painting to a pared-down, precise, and direct modernist aesthetic.
It was during this period that the photographer refined his style, simplifying his framing, eliminating any artifice to focus on lines, shapes, and light. He photographed ordinary objects鈥搒hells, vegetables, bodies, stones鈥搘ith great formal rigour, transforming reality into visual motifs.
Through more than one hundred vintage prints, this unique exhibition brings together iconic works that have rarely, if ever, been shown in Paris. Alongside Weston鈥檚 masterpieces are major works in the pictorialist style by Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, and Anne Brigman, among others, offering a rich and unique perspective on two major conceptions of photography.
Weston contributed to this modern perspective on the periphery of the art world. He lived and worked in California, travelling to Mexico and distancing himself from the centres of power and influence. He sought neither effect nor provocation, but rather an accurate view, a form of silent revelation.
Exploring the richness of Weston鈥檚 work鈥揻rom nudes to still lifes, landscapes and intimate portraits of his close collaborators, such as Tina Modotti鈥搕he MEP pays tribute to a major figure of modernist photography. Many of his most iconic images are exhibited in their original form, hand-printed by the artist himself.
Artists on show
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This autumn, the Maison Europ茅enne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris presents an ambitious trio of exhibitions that bring together three photographers whose distinct approaches redefine the language of the image.
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