Urban Photography: Friedlander, Graham, Perrin, and Hammerstiel at Paris Galleries

A critique of four simultaneous photography exhibitions in Paris assesses Lee Friedlander's retrospective at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume (19 September – 31 December), highlighting its formalist approach and excessive theorization, while lauding the bold eroticism of his Nudes series (1991). At Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire (5–30 September and 12–28 October), Paul Graham's American Night employs overexposed, hyper-saturated images to juxtapose the obscured existence of the impoverished with the illusion of American wealth. Frank Perrin's 6 Streets, 12 Camel Toes at Galerie Jousse Entreprise (9 September – 17 October) critiques the capitalist uniformity of urban environments and female bodies through luxury brand logos and polyptychs of lycra-clad women. Robert F. Hammerstiel's Private Stories and Made by Nature at Galerie Michèle Chomette (13 September – 28 October) features theatrical depictions of isolated individuals in sterile suburban settings, questioning authenticity with plastic food and hamster videos. The article also commemorates the 25th anniversary of Lyon's Le Réverbère gallery and discusses Michel Poivert's new book, L'Image au service de la révolution. Photographie, surréalisme, révolution (Le Point du jour, 2006), which reevaluates the political aspects of surrealist photography.