The photography exhibitions at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris are always very popular, drawing a crowd on weekends. The museum showcases works of photographers, famous or not, that allow you to see reality from different perspectives with a great diversity of styles. Such is the case of Joel Meyerowitz, whose retrospective is on show until April 7th. From the beginning of his career in the 1960s, this photographer documented the American way of life with a heavy European influence.
The exhibition started with black and white images of New York City putting forth its raw energy.
Joel Meyerowitz became officially linked to the history of New York City when, in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, he was the only photographer allowed with unrestricted access to Ground Zero.
From the early 1960s, Joel Meyerowitz was an early advocate of color at a time when color photography was not considered a serious art. Doesn’t this seem hard to believe when the treatment of color actually is a form of art in itself?
What I like in these pictures is that Meyerowitz does a sublime work on color and lighting on the most banal landscapes like Edward Hopper did in his paintings. The objects of the pictures are not exceptional, yet if you’ve ever gone on a road trip in the US, they remind you of the excitement you had while travelling towards a certain destination, the unexpected discoveries on the road, the feeling of being in an unknown place outside of your usual comfort zone, the meals in the most mundane places that end up having their dose of charm.
If you ever go to the Maison Européenne de la Photographie located in the Marais, be sure to go for a chic snack afterwards at the nearby L’Eclair de Génie. Also, you might enjoy my post on another exhibition that took place there, Karl Lagerfeld photography exhibition in Paris.
