Following a generous donation of 100 of his prints, the Centre Pompidou has put together this stunning retrospective of American photographer Louis Stettner’s most influential images. Spanning seven decades, from the 1950s to his most recent work from 2010 onwards, the exhibit explores the 93 year old’s unswervingly exceptional talent, and above all his iconic street photography of Paris and New York.
As amply demonstrated here, Stettner has never taken advantage of his privileged position, instead taking seamlessly everyday photos of packed subways, worn shop fronts and working docks in an highly sensitive and sympathetic manner. Each time, ordinary passing moments are photographed gracefully in black and white, bestowing a distinct serenity upon the cacophony of the city streets. The shadows of calloused hands, the flaking bark of a tree, a tired passenger on the underground: all of his shots are utterly, eerily compelling.
TRANSLATION: FLORA HUDSON