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A Different Vision of Paris

Submitted by Sartorialista on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 16:52

Chez SuzyChez Suzy

There certainly exists a commonly held, preconceived notion of what Paris is like. It’s romantic and beautiful and accordion players set the soundtrack to your perfect evening. While Paris may not exactly fit that description, it lives up to its reputation as one of the most dynamic and charming cities in the world. However, it’s easy to forget that what we experience as tourists and visitors is not exactly reality. Just like New York, Paris has its shadier locales. I was reminded of this while researching Paris photography looking for inspiration for my own photographs. I came upon the images of Brassai, a Romanian immigrant who came to Paris, and made a name for himself through his romantic images of Paris at night. I had seen these images before, but they had never struck me as particularly groundbreaking or visually interesting. Yet, as I was looking through his images, I came upon a different set of photographs, which depicted a darker and moodier Paris.

Chez Suzy (1932) is an image in a larger portfolio of photos that depict quotidian scenes of a brothel. Three half naked and visibly exhausted prostitutes lay sprawled across the room, displaying an intimacy between one another that seems both incomprehensible and sisterly. At first, this image seemed erotic in nature, but after a closer examination it proved to be a true portrait of the post-coital lives of prostitutes. I found it almost uncomfortable to look at. It seemed like an intrusion.

De Botton spoke about how the art depicting a place can shape our image of it, especially after we have already judged it. While I did not dislike Paris as De Botton disliked Provence, I had unknowingly assumed that Paris was just another bourgeois city. However, Paris has a deep and varied history and Chez Suzy reminded me of that. Even now, issues such as drug and sex trafficking trouble Paris. Without even realizing it, I had a very idealized view of what Paris is and was. After looking at these photographs, I feel as though I have a richer understanding of contemporary Paris and its origins.

 

Location

Paris

seeing through the bullshit

Submitted by JohnQ on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 11:14.

Big kudoes to you for picking up on your own assumptions - not an easy thing to do.  Paris is so overloaded with preconceptions and expectations, and because of its tourist economy the city itself has gone to great lenghts to try and accomodate them.  I keep trying to remind myself, as I talk to other friends who are studying abroad in countries in Africa and South East Asia, that it isn't that France has solved the poverty problem, but simply become develloped enough to know how to conceal it.  I feel like the challenge of studying abroad in Africa and parts of Asia and South America is to not judge the people or culture for how overt a lot of the social problems of these area appear, and the challenge of studying in Europe is increasingly to not be taken in by the infrastructure which has been set up to keep tourists comfortable and unchallenged.