The 1980s, the Unbearable Lightness at the Centre Pompidou

Flash back! By mixing well known pieces in with works that are little known or waiting to be rediscovered, this exhibition gives us a fresh perspective on the photographic world of the 1980s. Considered as the pinnacle of postmodernism, that elusive and capricious decade was crucial to the development of photography. Often very ‘pictorial’, this new photography was given an added impetus by technical developments such as the accessibility of good quality colour, the possibilities offered by large format prints, and the immediacy of the Polaroid system. The meeting of these innovative means of production with the search for fresh forms and themes created a new paradox, as the resultant anti-documentary achievements proved so evocative of the reality from which they arose that they ultimately became the most faithful representation. The photographs on display are those which undertook a criticism of culture or society, geopolitics or economics, in accord with various strategies, in an era when ideological divisions were swept aside. The works of over sixty photographic artists are presented, including those of Jean-Paul Goude, Martin Parr and Pierre and Gilles. JR.

The 1980s; the Unbearable Lightness, until May 23rd 2016 at the Centre Pompidou

Less than 20 minutes from the Hotel Fabric
Place George Pompidou, Paris 4th

Open daily from 11:00 to 22:00 and Thursday until 23:00
www.centrepompidou.fr

Photo credit: Agnès Bonnot / Agence Vu - The 1980s, the Unbearable Lightness, at the Centre Pompidou, Paris