L'Œil photographique Exhibition at Frac Auvergne

The exhibition 'L'Œil photographique' at Frac Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand, running from October 5, 2013 to February 9, 2014, presents major works from the photographic collection of the Centre national des arts plastiques. Curated with a focus on the 'photographic gesture,' the show spans photojournalism, staged photography, and abstraction. Key works include Patrick Tosani's drum, a Mars view from NASA's robot, Jeanloup Sieff's 1962 image of Hitchcock and Ina Balke for Harper's Bazaar, and large pieces from the 1980s by Jeff Wall and Cindy Sherman referencing cinema. Thematic rooms explore life and death: Philippe Bazin's 'Nés' (1998), Rineke Dijkstra's 'New Mothers' (1994), Pierre Gonnord's portrait of an old woman, and Nan Goldin's 'Cookie Mueller Portfolio' (1976-1990). Another room addresses photographic authenticity, featuring Hocine Zaourar's 'Madone de Bentalha' (1997), Sophie Ristelhueber's abstract postwar landscape, and Éric Baudelaire's 'The Dreadfull Details' (2006), a constructed Iraq war scene. The exhibition also uses eye anatomy metaphorically, grouping 'blind spot' oxymorons like Hiroshi Sugimoto's cinema photographs where long exposures erase projected images to white screens.