Raymond Depardon
Such a sweet moment
Colour appeared in the work of Raymond Depardon from the very first images. He was at that time 16 years old. Since then, it has accompanied him through all the most important moments: his years spent discovering photography, the first travels through Africa, the great reportages, then, more recently, “un moment si doux” (Such a Sweet Moment) that gives this exhibition its title. The exhibition presents 137 colour photographs; 40 have been specially printed for the Mucem exhibition, 23 of which were taken in Marseilles. With colour as the guiding theme, it is an invitation to wander through the life of the artist, from the late 1950s to the present day.
About the photos taken in Marseilles by Raymond Depardon in May-June 2014 for the Mucem exhibition:
“Children were running between the tables. I sensed that I mustn’t move. Raymond had spotted a passerby on the square, a square of light framing her silhouette. He pretended to point his camera at me and he got the good photo. With his Rolleiflex he doesn’t hide behind the camera, he looks down to frame the photo. He moves laterally, always at the same height. This technique is perhaps what gives this particular tenderness to his street photos.”
Extract of a text by Claude Nougaret for Méditerranée, Raymond Depardon (Éditions Xavier Barral, en coédition avec le Mucem, 2014)
Curator: Hervé Chandès, General Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
Associate Curator: Jean-Roch Bouiller, curator, head of contemporary art at Mucem
Scenography: agence bGc
Co-production: Réunion des musées nationaux- Grand Palais, in collaboration with Magnum Photos
Colour appeared in the work of Raymond Depardon from the very first images. He was at that time 16 years old. Since then, it has accompanied him through all the most important moments: his years spent discovering photography, the first travels through Africa, the great reportages, then, more recently, “un moment si doux” (Such a Sweet Moment) that gives this exhibition its title. The exhibition presents 137 colour photographs; 40 have been specially printed for the Mucem exhibition, 23 of which were taken in Marseilles. With colour as the guiding theme, it is an invitation to wander through the life of the artist, from the late 1950s to the present day.
About the photos taken in Marseilles by Raymond Depardon in May-June 2014 for the Mucem exhibition:
“Children were running between the tables. I sensed that I mustn’t move. Raymond had spotted a passerby on the square, a square of light framing her silhouette. He pretended to point his camera at me and he got the good photo. With his Rolleiflex he doesn’t hide behind the camera, he looks down to frame the photo. He moves laterally, always at the same height. This technique is perhaps what gives this particular tenderness to his street photos.”
Extract of a text by Claude Nougaret for Méditerranée, Raymond Depardon (Éditions Xavier Barral, en coédition avec le Mucem, 2014)
Curator: Hervé Chandès, General Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
Associate Curator: Jean-Roch Bouiller, curator, head of contemporary art at Mucem
Scenography: agence bGc
Co-production: Réunion des musées nationaux- Grand Palais, in collaboration with Magnum Photos