Behind the curtain – The aesthetics of the photobooth - Musée de l'Elysée

BEHIND THE CURTAIN – THE AESTHETICS OF THE PHOTOBOOTH

17.02.2012 - 20.05.2012

When the first photobooths were set up in Paris in 1928, the Surrealists used them heavily and compulsively. In a few minutes, and for a small price, the machine offered them, through a portrait, an experience similar to automatic writing. Since then, generations of artists have been fascinated by the concept of the photobooth. From Andy Warhol to Arnulf Rainer, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman and Gillian Wearing, many used it to play with their identity, tell stories, or simply create worlds.

Behind the Curtain - the Aesthetics of the Photobooth, an exhibition created by the Musée de l’Elysée, is the first to focus on the aesthetics of the photobooth. It is divided into six major themes: the booth, the automated process, the strip, who am I ?, who are you ?, who are we ?. Provider of standardized legal portraits, it is the ideal tool for introspection and reflection on others, whether individually or in groups. By bringing together over 600 pieces made on different media (photographs, paintings, lithographs and videos) from sixty international artists, the exhibition reveals the influence of the photobooth within the artistic community, from its inception to the present day.

Artists

J.-M. Alberola, L. Aragon, M.-B. Aurenche, R. Avedon, A. Baczynsky, J. Bark, M. Bellini, J.-A. Boiffard, A. Breton, H. Buchmeier, A. Cruz-Eberhard, S. Delafon, A. Deleporte, P. Eluard, M. Ernst, M. Fent, M. Folco, V. Fournier, L. Friedlander, N. Goranin, J. Grostern, S. Hiller, D. Jewell, S. Khachaturova, J. Klauke, J.-H. Lartigue, N. Leibowitz, L. Levinstein, A. Messager, W. Michel, D. Minnick, S. Muzard, R. Pellicer, M. Pernot, S. Pippin, J. Prévert, R. Queneau, A. Rainer, T. Rautert, B. Richard, G. Richter, T. Ruff, M. Salsmann, T. Sawada, J. Schmid, C. Sherman, L. Simpson, D. Soulas, Y. Tanguy, A. Tetrault, R. Topor, F. Vaccari, A. Warhol, G. Wearing, J. Wenzel, D. Wojnarowicz and the group Fluxus.

Curators

Clément Chéroux and Sam Stourdzé

With the collaboration of Anne Lacoste

The exhibition has been organised with the support of PKB Privatbank and La Loterie Romande.