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In late 1975, having recently moved to Paris, Jane Evelyn Atwood produced her first photo essay, in black and white, with a style that was at once simple, effective, and sensitive.
Through an encounter with a prostitute on Rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extraordinary characters, incredible costumes, and the way they looked at men. The building’s entrance was shabby, the walls filthy, the floor littered with cigarette butts, and the smell of urine overwhelming, but her desire to get to know these women better convinced Jane Evelyn Atwood to share their lives.
For an entire year, she spends her evenings and nights photographing them in this brothel. Being patient and not asking too much. Always being present, taking photos only when the moment is right. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, a rejection of the superficial, constant respect for others—Jane Evelyn Atwood works with time and does not fight against it.
While this year on Rue des Lombards was decisive for her work as a photographer, it also taught her a great deal, as a woman, about human nature, about male-female relationships, about money and the lack of it, and about power or the absence of power. From these fascinating encounters and this demanding work emerged 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 the entirety of this little-known body of work by Jane Evelyn Atwood, now celebrated for her social photography. A beautiful tribute to these women, to their generosity, and to Paris at night in the late 1970s.
Photographs and text : Jane Evelyn Atwood
Dimensions: 215 x 320 mm
pages 160 pages
NB photos
Retrospective Jane Evelyn Atwood at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris from June 28 to September 25, 2011
ISBN 9782915173765
In late 1975, having recently moved to Paris, Jane Evelyn Atwood produced her first photo essay, in black and white, with a style that was at once simple, effective, and sensitive.
Through an encounter with a prostitute on Rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extraordinary characters, incredible costumes, and the way they looked at men. The building’s entrance was shabby, the walls filthy, the floor littered with cigarette butts, and the smell of urine overwhelming, but her desire to get to know these women better convinced Jane Evelyn Atwood to share their lives.
For an entire year, she spends her evenings and nights photographing them in this brothel. Being patient and not asking too much. Always being present, taking photos only when the moment is right. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, a rejection of the superficial, constant respect for others—Jane Evelyn Atwood works with time and does not fight against it.
While this year on Rue des Lombards was decisive for her work as a photographer, it also taught her a great deal, as a woman, about human nature, about male-female relationships, about money and the lack of it, and about power or the absence of power. From these fascinating encounters and this demanding work emerged 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 the entirety of this little-known body of work by Jane Evelyn Atwood, now celebrated for her social photography. A beautiful tribute to these women, to their generosity, and to Paris at night in the late 1970s.
Photographs and text : Jane Evelyn Atwood
Dimensions: 215 x 320 mm
pages 160 pages
NB photos
Retrospective Jane Evelyn Atwood at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris from June 28 to September 25, 2011
ISBN 9782915173765
