PARIS PHOTO will celebrate its 15th anniversary at the Grand Palais — a major step ahead for this renowned international event, which is not to be missed.
117 galleries from some 23 countries will present the best of 19th century, modern and contemporary photography in the heart of the French capital. To complete this panorama of worldwide photography, a selection of 18 publishers will have a dedicated space in the fair. PARIS PHOTO will celebrate African photography from Bamako to Cape Town, unveiling the creative wealth of historic and contemporary African artists.These exciting developments put forward the new energy that PARIS PHOTO is displaying by reinventing itself. Four programmes will articulate PARIS PHOTO'S new identity: Institutions - recent photography acquisitions, Private Collection from Artur Walther, PARIS PHOTO conferences platform, focus on the Photography Book and launching of the PARIS PHOTO - Photo Book Prize.
PARIS PHOTO at the Grand Palais10 -13 November 2011
This season Nicolas Ghesquiere – who has been at the creative helm of Balenciaga since 1997 - worked with beautiful printed shirts, broad shoulders on suede dresses and vests and high-waisted trousers made from different fabrics – so denim at the front and twill at the back. Legs were narrow on the trouser front and with belts woven through the waist, while mini shorts were cut high on the leg and worked to build up the boxier jacket shapes above.
It was graphic and futuristic at the beginning (with long pockets and panelled jackets of lilac, peach, claret and navy), and then softened later with longer skirts made up from patchwork fabric or dripping with stalactites of metallic fringing. It ended with graphically-cut tabards and wimple hats made from leather to give an ecclesiastical feel – apt given that the audience were all standing as if at a service.
"C’est de chair qu’elles sont faites, intenses mais fragiles, joyeuses mais sanglantes".
At the dawn of the 20th century, in a house of tolerance in Paris, a prostitute's face bears a scar that sketches a tragic smile. Around the woman who laughs, the lives of the other women unfold, with their rivalries, fears, joys and pain. The outside world never enters into this house, where the women remain locked in.
Le monde n'est pourtant pas nié, la maison n'est pas close sur elle-même, la maison est le monde, petit substrat du monde où la totalité du monde se reflète.
L'Apollonide s'articule autour des visions d'une femme données d'emblée. Le début du film dit déjà sa fin. Le film sera l'expérience d'une durée entre ces visions, prises dans un temps cyclique, répétitif, jamais fini. La vision est l'issue qui permet à cette femme de passer de l'éternité (dans laquelle se tient le personnage de Céline Sallette) à l'immortalité. Aussi le film joue-t-il de ce passage : ce que nous voyons, c'est bien le rêve de l'immortelle, mais nous le voyions comme à travers les yeux de la fumeuse d'opium. Les souvenirs se précisent, les durées du souvenir se décalent (telle cette gradation appliquée à la scène séminale du film, celle de la défiguration de Madeleine : d'abord, la lame sur les seins ; plus tard, la lame tranchant la joue ; plus tard encore, la lame enfoncée dans la bouche et faisant sonner les dents – l’effroi se déplace, d’un plaisir partagé à un plaisir contraint, en passant par le sang : le déplacement n’est pas linéaire, le cinéaste ne quête que l’intensité). La volute opiacée est la forme du film, son flux, sa langueur - langueur chargée de fulgurances. Quelque chose d'électrique habite le film, et cette chose tient à la violence de ce rapport : nous savons tout, nous ne faisons rien. L'immortalité est à portée d'oeil. Nous nous tenons dans les fantasmes qu'elle nous inspire. J'ai gardé sur ce film les yeux grands ouverts, il y avait toujours quelque chose à voir, et pourtant rien à faire.
l’exposition L’Apollonide du 15 septembre au 31 octobre chez Blaq Out (52 rue Charlot, 75003 Paris) qui présente photos, objets, bijoux, costumes du film. Une exposition de Bertrand Bonello. Costumes, bijoux et dessins sont signés Anaïs Romand.
A designer noted and lauded for his wearable and covetable creations, Van Noten took his inspiration from the architectural shapes of Spanish and Italian couture and combined them with a collaboration with English photographer Christopher Reeve to create the prints in the second half of the show (nighttime scenes of Vegas, London and more), while showing off serene-scapes of palms and all things botanical to begin with.
My knowledge of Victorian era literature is pretty abysmal. But this trailer kind of makes this version of Wuthering Heights seem like a horror film. It’s mostly dimly lit hand-held shots with no dialogue, underscored by an ominous wind. Then, when we finally hear a line spoken, we get, “you broke my heart… you killed me.” I vaguely remember something about the main character in Wuthering Heights talking to or trying to talk to ghosts, but I don’t remember that being a driving force behind the plot.
Jane Eyre using the theme from Suspiria in the trailer despite the absence of anything even remotely supernatural from the story.
Apparently much of the film is shot in this hand-held style, which is what sets it apart from other film adaptations of Wuthering Heights. It will be interesting to see how some of the seemingly non sequitor imagery will be incorporated into the narrative. Wuthering Heights opens in the UK in November, but no word yet on when it might be released stateside.
