Paris

22 June - 28 July 1991

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.

Admission: charged

We are happy to present this exhibition of “Paris, Capitale de la Photographie 1910-1945”.

Photography is drawing a great deal of attention in the art world today. A number of museums devoted to photography have opened recently, and there have been many exhibitions covering the various aspects of the history of photography from its invention to the present day. Thus, conditions have been created in Japan that make it possible to see and examine important examples of photographic art directly and evaluate them in terms of the history of photography and the same kind of esthetic standards which are applied to the fine arts. This situation is reflected in the present exhibition of “Paris, Capitale de la Photographie 1910-1945” which has been organized by six Japanese art museums.

The Japanese public is very familiar with the activities of the group of artists known as the Ecole de Paris, which flourished in Paris from the teens through the thirties. The painters who worked in Paris during this period have been the subject of many exhibitions here. There were also many photographers among those who came to Paris around the same time to pursue a career in the arts. They were closely involved with fields like fashion, journalism, and film as well as the fine arts. They used their cameras to record the appearance of the capital of the arts and the people who lived there throughout this important period.

This exhibition attempts to look through the eyes of these photographers and examine the possibilities of establishing the historical category of a photographic Ecole de Paris.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to PICTO and other organizations and individuals who provided assistance in organizing this exhibition.