Changing Paris: A Tour along the Seine, Photographs by Philip Trager

Friday October 20, 2000 - Friday December 8, 2000
Changing Paris: A Tour along the Seine, Photographs by Philip Trager

Philip Trager, Pont Alexandre III, 1994, gelatin silver print; © Philip Trager, courtesy Julie Saul Gallery, New York

Philip Trager has received international accolades for his photographs, particularly those of architectural subjects. His new bookChanging Parisdocuments the remarkable structures and spaces of this magnificent city on the Seine.

Philip Trager (B.A. Wesleyan 1956) is the author of seven books, including The Villas of Palladio (1986), Dancers (1992), and Persephone (1996). This exhibition presented a selection of about 40 gelatin silver prints, platinum prints, and Iris prints from Changing Paris: A Tour Along the Seine, published in 2000. After being shown at the Davison Art Center, the exhibition traveled to Paris for an exhibition opening at the Musée Carnavalet in June 2001.

The New York Times has characterized Trager's new photographs as "perfectly composed, richly printed views of Paris...animated by subtly romantic or dreamy feelings." With his profound mastery of light and distinctive vision, the artist captures the spirit of "The City of Light," which so often has used the Seine as a point of reference in its architectural planning.

Trager worked on this project over a period of six years, during which he photographed Paris in all seasons and at all times of day. He used the Seine as his focus for looking both at venerable buildings and at new or lesser-known structures in the center and at the periphery of the city. Among the sites represented are the "Grand Projets," including the new Bibliothèque National de France François Mitterrand and I.M. Pei's glass pyramid additions to the Louvre, as well as the Place de la Concorde, the Musée d'Orsay, and the magnificent bridges that span the Seine.

The artist gave a gallery talk on Friday 20 October at 5:00 p.m.

Friday 20 October - Friday 8 December 2000