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Reviews |
Paris Photo 2006 |
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Paris Photo is a vast, commercial photography art fair that attracts galleries and dealers from around the world. This 10th edition was presented between 15 - 19 November in the Carrousel du Louvre in the heart of Paris, and hosted a glamorous, well-healed audience of over 40,000. It is scheduled during Paris's Mois de la Photo, which has been running since 1980. In 2004, Mois de la Photo linked with six other cities to form the European Month of Photography, a context that lends the fair a certain curatorial value. Paris Photo is notable for its slick organisation and its location, layout and presentation, make it one of the more accessible art fairs in Europe. With stands costing a rental of €20,000 and upwards it has to be.
This year, 88 galleries and 18 publishers representing 21 countries showed and the exhibitors have announced a 27% increase in sales on the previous years' results. The stands - essentially market stalls for photography - were largely well designed, though occasionally overcrowded with disparate material. Organised over three capacious halls, the fair has a central section - described as 'a place of honour' - that allows for a more thoughtful exploration of an artist or theme. This year's focus was on the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The tribute to the Nordic countries was organised in three parts. The Statement, selected by freelance critic and curator, Andrea Holzherr, featured eight galleries presenting contemporary photography by emerging artists. The Project Room showed a looped selection of video works and The Central Exhibition, works by a leading woman artist from each of the five countries. These exhibitions were some of the most rewarding of the fair, allowing for greater insight into artists' work and feeling far less commercial than other stands. Of particular note were Trine Søndergaard and Nicolai Howalt's engrossing photographs from their How to Hunt series. Shot in misty, romantic landscapes, the digital combination prints included scenes from throughout a hunt, concentrating all the activity in one intriguing scene. Elsewhere in the Nordic section, Axel Antas' Interventions series; mysterious low-lying cloud formations in woodland clearings, Ruri's installation of ongoing work documenting Iceland's endangered waterfalls, and Mette Tronvall's portraits of soldiers from the Norwegian Army's Special Forces were especially impressive. On stands in the other halls, Elina Brotherus and Joel Meyerowitz benefited from similarly extended runs of their work. Allowing extra space for solo presentation of artists' work was not always successful, however. A reconstruction of Joel Peter Witkin's first exhibition from 1974 in the Cooper Union School of Art, New York, while unfamiliar, was disappointing. |
Signing by Hans van der Meer Photography books were conspicuous - both new titles and vintage publications. Collectors' appetites for photography have now encompassed books with vigour. Some titles had increased in value by 100% compared with last year's fair. I found myself mentally ticking off books in my own collection and, even worse, calculating their value. Book signings of new publications by Martin Parr, Anders Petersen, Elliot Erwitt, Massimo Vitali and Hans van der Meer all encouraged brisk business. New special editions of Then and Now by Ed Ruscha made a reported $80 000 at the Steidl stand. 22 boxed sets of Andres Serrano's photographs sold for €12 000 each. Ploughing though the unashamedly, sometimes brutally commercial fair required a somewhat cynical resolve. Most disappointingly, it was often difficult to discuss work with dealers, particularly when it became evident that a sale was not going to result. Such was the extent of their zeal for selling. Success was seen as units shifted and dollars made. Nevertheless, in amongst all this, there were photographs that it was a real pleasure to see. A small selection of Jem Southam's Upton Pyne photographs warranted serious attention. Sarah Pickering's photographs of explosions, though hidden away at the back of the Photographers' Gallery stand, were outstanding and, I found myself returning three times to the very friendly M+B Gallery stand to look at Mike Brodie's captivating documentary photographs of communities living and riding on boxcars in the US. Shot on a Polaroid SX70 camera and simply and elegantly displayed, they were the antithesis of much of what was on offer. One of the pleasures to be had from a visit to Paris Photo is taking part in the activities resulting from its relationship with the Mois de la Photo. Exhibitions in other venues were well-publicised as were related events, talks and launches. Key exhibitions were on show at the Jeu de Paume and the Centre Pompidou. At the former, consisting of around 500 works, the MOMA New York organised a Lee Friedlander exhibition which is worth the trip to Paris alone. Finally, while not part of the photography programme, the Centre Pompidou's Le mouvement des images is an intelligently curated and boldly designed exhibition examining the influence of cinema on 20th century art. I highly recommend both. Friedlander is open until December 31, Le mouvement des images until January 29. Reed Expositions France, the organisers of Paris Photo, have just announced that they have taken over Photo London and will be it running from next year. Greg Hobson |
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