bLOGOS/HA HA: Jean-Pierre Laffont & Reg V. Brock

David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.

05 November 2020

Jean-Pierre Laffont & Reg V. Brock

NEW YORK, NY. - In 2020, French-American photographer Jean-Pierre Laffont received The Lucie Award for Achievement in Photojournalism and The Visa D’Or Award of the Figaro Magazine for Lifetime Achievement.

To celebrate those achievements, Sous Les Etoiles Gallery is presenting a collection of photographs that represent the twenty five icons of his long carrier as a photo journalist in United States from November 3rd to December 12th, 2020.

For more than three decades, starting in 1964, Jean-Pierre Laffont travelled all fifty states seeking to document as wide of a range of compelling American stories, and he also photographed celebrities both French and American along with all the politicians of the times. He spent eight years at the White House as a foreign correspondent and photographed several presidents. He produced in-depth photo essays of the rise of the World Trade Center, the gangs in the Bronx, and the violence on 42nd Street.

"When I look back at the individual photographs I took during this quarter-century period, comments Jean-Pierre Laffont, the images at first seem to depict a ball of confusion… riots, demonstrations, disintegration, collapse and conflict. Taken together, the images show the chaotic, often painful, birth of the country where we live in today: 21st-century America. They do what photographs do best: freeze decisive moments in time for future examination. These photographs form a personal and historical portrait of a country I have always viewed critically but affectionately, and to which I bear immense gratitude."

Jean-Pierre Laffont attended the School of Graphic Art in Vevey, Switzerland, where he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Photography. He is a founding member of the Gamma USA and Sygma Photo News agencies. His photos were published in the world's leading news magazines, including Le Figaro, London Sunday Times, Newsweek, Paris Match, Stern, and Time Magazine.

- ArtDaily Newsletter: Wednesday, Nov 04 2020