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| © Philippe Chancel |
| "Traffic Policeman, Pyongyang, 2005." From Chancel's exhibition on life in North Korea. |
Thousands of photographers and industry professionals descended on the ancient Roman town of Arles last week to witness one of the world's longest-running photography festivals, commonly known as the Rencontres d'Arles.
With 50 exhibitions around town, nightly slideshows in the Antique Theatre, and workshops where burgeoning photographers could learn from the profession's noted masters, the Rencontres d'Arles offered a unique look at both the history and future of photography.
This year's program was guest curated by Magnum photographer Raymond Depardon, who vowed in the festival program that he wanted to both celebrate the work of his photographic "fellow travelers" as well as provide a "subjective X-ray" into the current field to determine what deserved recognition.
The exhibitions were highlighted by master works of all types, from the career retrospective of noted South African photographer David Goldblatt to the political photography of David Burnett to a side-by-side exhibit comparing the late-'60s, early-'70s war photography of Don McCullin and Gilles Caron.
Much of the work exhibited by emerging photographers dealt with the question of, as Montreal-based Isabelle Hayeur puts it, "what is going to become of places and cultures in the age of globalization?"
In the eyes of Chinese photographer Wang Qingsong, globalization took the shape of surreal, Photoshopped tableau where ubiquitous corporate logos decorated a desolated, post-industrial landscape. Wang's "Glorious Life" series was one of the festival's highlights, and indeed won the Rencontres d'Arles Outreach Award, which was voted on by 826 festival participants.
New approaches to storytelling were also suggested in the exhibitions, most notably in the work of Alessandra Sanguinetti, who has spent the past five years recording an allegorical tale of two Argentine cousins through their desires and dreams rather than focusing on a more traditional documentary narrative. Sanguinetti won the Discovery Award (see complete list of winners).
The nightly projections, held in an ancient Roman theater, took a multidisciplinary approach by combining music with photography. New York-based punk poet Patti Smith riled up the crowd on Wednesday night during a projection celebrating the 20th anniversary of Agence Vu, France's avant-garde photojournalism gallery and agency.
The following night featured a live jazz quartet providing the soundtrack to a selection of photos by Guy Le Querrec.
On Friday afternoon, the town of Arles was abuzz with activity as work crews set up outdoor screens and slide projectors around the La Roquette neighborhood. That evening, venues such as courtyards of schools, monasteries and classic townhouses overflowed with people as various agencies, magazines, and photography collectives showed highlights from the past year in photography.
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