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In the art world, most of artists are exploring gorgeous works of art. But, we still found the grotesque, freakish, indelicate opus. Those artists are focused on different visions of art. Today, we will recommend two extremes between aesthetic and controversial exhibitions.

“Reminiscent, authentic, eccentric,” the most impressive exhibition is presenting Diane Arbus an American photographer. During this retrospective, approximately 200 photographs are on display from 18 October 2011 to 5 February 2012 in Jeu de Paume in Paris. Particularly, including the famous pictures, the most precious unpublished works also have been showed this time.     

Walking through the exhibition, visitors seem to travel back to the sixties of America. Diane Arbus preferred to shoot nudists, female personators, hermaphrodites, amentia and freaks in New York City. She kept recording the most authentic stories. That is why most of the photographs represent the abnormal conditions, behaviors and emotions who are always extremely deformed. However, Arbus insisted on portraying lives in black-and-white tone which embodied the culture in America during that period.

At the exit of the show, there is an independent room to present a brief introduction to Arbus’ background, life experiences and works. Also, we can see her personal cameras she used before. You can sit and read all the books that are displayed on the table. Imagining how she was taking pictures and carefully pondering the exhibition. It feels like peeping into other people’s lives though her pictures. The emotion and action of the past is truly saved in each scene. But, still you will never know the whole story which causes the most fascinating part. Just as she said: “A photograph is secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.” 

( Chris Fireoved, Zhang Hui, Zhou ZhuYe )

Pictures reference

Diane Albus :

 http://honk-magazine.blogspot.com/2011/06/secrets-of-diane-arbus.html

http://macushlaburke.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

 http://egudden.wordpress.com/feminisme-en-emancipatie/diane-arbus/

PhotoHow How can international culture be recognized?  Is that reading more culture books? Is it summarizing and comparing cultures from other countries? Or meeting more friends from overseas？Maybe going to cultural themed exhibitions will be a nice choice, here in Paris Museums.

The Petit Palais offers an exhibition on women in India and the evolution of their social status. The exhibition, organized with support from BNP Paribas, in partnership with Reporters sans frontières and Magnum Photos, shows 108 images by six Magnum Photos photographers. Olivia Arthur, Martine Franck, Raghu Rai, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Alex Webb and Patrick Zachmann have each chosen a different subject.

Photos: Alex Webb/based on the text by Mukul Kesavan

Hasina Shiekh at the wheel of a FOR SHE TAXI in the streets of Mumbai. FOR SHE TAXI is a special organization providing taxi services driven by women drivers.

Panchayat of Thuvarankurchi, village in Tamil Nadu state where women are voting to organize small working groups.

Inspired by the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Ela Bhatt founded in 1970 the association SEWA. The Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) is a trade union for poor, self-employed women workers in India.

Karuna Nundy is one of Indian women lawyers. After studying at Columbia University, she practiced law in New York. Finally she decided to return to India and runs her own law firm.

The exhibition Women Changing India discovers these students, women, lawyers, taxi drivers, farmers, entrepreneurs and a filmmaker who have been able to make their own destiny. In India, women have always been dominated by men. This exhibition may help to increase the confidence of women but on the other hand, the slightly depressing side of it is that the photographers participating are all male.

Women Who Changed Indiais an exhibition we strongly recommend to see but one must keep in mind that its aim is an empowerment of women in a society where they were never free to do what they always wanted.

Venue

Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris 
Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris
Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 43 40 00
Metro: Champs-Elysées Clémenceau (line/s 1, 13)