March 1 – June 1, 2008
Central Library – Getty Gallery

The City of Light comes to the City of Angels in photographs from the Musée Carnavalet, in Paris, whose collections represent the most comprehensive archive of Parisian history. The Library Foundation of Los Angeles is pleased to bring the works of art in this exhibition to the United States for the first time under special arrangement. 

Curated by Los Angeles scholars and writers Guy Bennett and Béatrice Mousli, with Catherine Tambrun of the Musée Carnavalet, “Beyond the Iconic” features 140 photographs of often-unseen aspects of the French capital that create a deeper more enriched understanding of Paris.

Eustachy Kossakowski, 5 Rue de la Cimentière, Clichy (92)—Paris 17th, 1971
Collections du Musée Carnavalet, Paris

In February 2008, Angel City Press will publish a full-color, 160-page catalogue of the exhibition.

The exhibition includes the work of 24 photographers and is organized according to six themes that explore Paris in terms of:

• Paris’s literal city limits
• Controlled images that “reinvent” the city’s appearance
• Documentary treatment of Paris’s “ordinary” details
• Portraits of the city’s inhabitants
• “Timeless” exposures using early and alternative photographic techniques
• Other namesake Parises situated in the United States.

Photographers represented in the exhibition include:  Georg Aerni , Stéphane Ancenay, Jean-Christophe Ballot, Martin Becka, Dean Chamberlain, Stéphane Couturier, Cécile Cuny, Eric Duranteau Felipe Ferré,  Arthur Gerbault, Savine Gillier, Tana Hoban, Anne Jaffrenou, Alberto Jonquières, Mi-Hyun Kim, Eustachy Kossakowski, Véronique Lalot, Kathryn Marx, Marie-Paule Nègre, Irving Pobboravsky, Grant Romer, Jacqueline Salmon, Jean-Jacques Salvador, and Ilan Wolff.

Irving Pobboravsky and Grant Romer, Louvre Pyramid with Fountain, Paris 1st, 1989
Collections du Musée Carnavalet, Paris

Related programming:  On Monday, April 14 at 7 p.m. photographer Christopher Rauschenberg will present “Revisiting Eugene Atget’s Paris:  A Photo Lecture,” as part of the ALOUD at Central Library series of cultural programs presented by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.  Rauschenberg walked around the city of Paris re-photographing the locations of many of Atget’s images.  More information can be found at www.aloudla.org or by calling (213) 228-7025.

More Information

• Press Release
• Central Library Information
• Related Event

Beyond the Iconic: Contemporary Photographs of Paris was curated by Guy Bennett and Béatrice Mousli with the collaboration of Catherine Tambrun. The works of art in the exhibition are all from the collection of the Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris, France. This exhibition is presented by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles for the Los Angeles Public Library. Major support provided by The James Irvine Foundation. Major corporate sponsor, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.