RUE DES LOMBARDS - Jane Evelyn Atwood
At the end of 1975, newly settled in Paris, Jane Evelyn Atwood produced her first black-and-white photo report, in a style that was simple, effective and sensitive.
From an encounter with a prostitute on the rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extra ordinary characters, incredible costumes, the way people looked at each other. The entrance to the building is dingy, the walls filthy, the floor covered in cigarette butts, the smell of piss pervasive, but the desire to get to know these women better convinces Jane Evelyn Atwood to share their lives.
For a whole year, she spent her evenings and nights photographing them in this brothel. Being patient and not asking too much. Always present, taking photos only when the moment was right. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, refusal of the superficial, constant respect for others, Jane Evelyn Atwood makes a pact with time and doesn't fight against it.
If that year on the rue des Lombards was decisive in her work as a photographer, it also taught her a great deal, as a woman, about human nature, about relationships between men and women, about money and the lack of it, and about power or the lack of it. From these fascinating encounters, from this demanding work, was born a deep friendship with Blondine, an extraordinary woman who remains dear to the photographer to this day.
More than thirty years later, Xavier Barral Editions is bringing together for the first time all of this little-known work by Jane Evelyn Atwood, who is today acclaimed for her social photography. A fine tribute to these women, to their generosity, and to the Paris by night of the late 1970s.
Photographs and text : Jane Evelyn Atwood
Format: 215 x 320 mm
160 pages approx.
NB photos
Retrospective Jane Evelyn Atwood at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris from June 28 to September 25, 2011
ISBN: 9782915173765
At the end of 1975, newly settled in Paris, Jane Evelyn Atwood produced her first black-and-white photo report, in a style that was simple, effective and sensitive.
From an encounter with a prostitute on the rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extra ordinary characters, incredible costumes, the way people looked at each other. The entrance to the building is dingy, the walls filthy, the floor covered in cigarette butts, the smell of piss pervasive, but the desire to get to know these women better convinces Jane Evelyn Atwood to share their lives.
For a whole year, she spent her evenings and nights photographing them in this brothel. Being patient and not asking too much. Always present, taking photos only when the moment was right. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, refusal of the superficial, constant respect for others, Jane Evelyn Atwood makes a pact with time and doesn't fight against it.
If that year on the rue des Lombards was decisive in her work as a photographer, it also taught her a great deal, as a woman, about human nature, about relationships between men and women, about money and the lack of it, and about power or the lack of it. From these fascinating encounters, from this demanding work, was born a deep friendship with Blondine, an extraordinary woman who remains dear to the photographer to this day.
More than thirty years later, Xavier Barral Editions is bringing together for the first time all of this little-known work by Jane Evelyn Atwood, who is today acclaimed for her social photography. A fine tribute to these women, to their generosity, and to the Paris by night of the late 1970s.
Photographs and text : Jane Evelyn Atwood
Format: 215 x 320 mm
160 pages approx.
NB photos
Retrospective Jane Evelyn Atwood at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris from June 28 to September 25, 2011
ISBN: 9782915173765
At the end of 1975, newly settled in Paris, Jane Evelyn Atwood produced her first black-and-white photo report, in a style that was simple, effective and sensitive.
From an encounter with a prostitute on the rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extra ordinary characters, incredible costumes, the way people looked at each other. The entrance to the building is dingy, the walls filthy, the floor covered in cigarette butts, the smell of piss pervasive, but the desire to get to know these women better convinces Jane Evelyn Atwood to share their lives.
For a whole year, she spent her evenings and nights photographing them in this brothel. Being patient and not asking too much. Always present, taking photos only when the moment was right. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, refusal of the superficial, constant respect for others, Jane Evelyn Atwood makes a pact with time and doesn't fight against it.
If that year on the rue des Lombards was decisive in her work as a photographer, it also taught her a great deal, as a woman, about human nature, about relationships between men and women, about money and the lack of it, and about power or the lack of it. From these fascinating encounters, from this demanding work, was born a deep friendship with Blondine, an extraordinary woman who remains dear to the photographer to this day.
More than thirty years later, Xavier Barral Editions is bringing together for the first time all of this little-known work by Jane Evelyn Atwood, who is today acclaimed for her social photography. A fine tribute to these women, to their generosity, and to the Paris by night of the late 1970s.
Photographs and text : Jane Evelyn Atwood
Format: 215 x 320 mm
160 pages approx.
NB photos
Retrospective Jane Evelyn Atwood at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris from June 28 to September 25, 2011
ISBN: 9782915173765
