Everyday is Sunday
September 15, 2014 4:45 PM Subscribe
Everyday is Sunday (Tous les jours dimanche) is a series of surreal pictures taken by photographer Manolo Mylonas in the poor and tumultuous Department of Seine-Saint-Denis, where he lives (interview in French). For those who wonder about the sheep herd on a concrete ramp, they are part of an experiment in urban agriculture (in French, other pictures). There's no explanation for the horse on the balcony, but this is probably how it got there.
Thanks for sharing the find! I know really very little about art photography and even less about the area he's focusing on in this collection. I looked through several of the collections in his portfolio, and my response is a little bit torn. Some of his work seems to involve some interesting and fresh artistic/technical choices that are very intriguing to me. The series Métropolis, for example, seems to use some sort of mysterious technique that somehow flattens the perspective and almost makes everything look like--I don't know, a photoshop collage or something. Like I'm just fascinated with this piece and how everything looks so flat.
In contrast, the Tous le jours dimanche collection seems to rely primarily on the element of surprise (somewhere I saw the word "surreal" used in connection with the collection) for its artistic impact, and I feel a little short-changed. I guess the pieces seem more journalistic and less artistic, and yet because nothing is titled or explained it falls short as a piece of journalism as well. For example, pieces like this or this seems utterly unremarkable on an artistic level, and so all that's left is the story they tell, yet I'm not really getting a story from a lot of these. I mean, I guess we can invent stories for some of these--horse-on-roof, for example--but the choice to present them "sans mise-en-scène" (if I'm understanding correctly) for me detracts from the specificity of the people and the place.
I dunno...just kind of blathering here, but I guess I found myself wanting these to be either better art or better journalism (or ideally both!). I found other portfolios of Mylonas much more engaging.
posted by drlith at 5:40 AM on September 16, 2014
In contrast, the Tous le jours dimanche collection seems to rely primarily on the element of surprise (somewhere I saw the word "surreal" used in connection with the collection) for its artistic impact, and I feel a little short-changed. I guess the pieces seem more journalistic and less artistic, and yet because nothing is titled or explained it falls short as a piece of journalism as well. For example, pieces like this or this seems utterly unremarkable on an artistic level, and so all that's left is the story they tell, yet I'm not really getting a story from a lot of these. I mean, I guess we can invent stories for some of these--horse-on-roof, for example--but the choice to present them "sans mise-en-scène" (if I'm understanding correctly) for me detracts from the specificity of the people and the place.
I dunno...just kind of blathering here, but I guess I found myself wanting these to be either better art or better journalism (or ideally both!). I found other portfolios of Mylonas much more engaging.
posted by drlith at 5:40 AM on September 16, 2014
As a USian, I'm so used to seeing glorified pictures of France that these are rather shocking. I think part of it is that every pic is like 90% concrete, 10% humanity.
posted by jabah at 6:18 AM on September 16, 2014
posted by jabah at 6:18 AM on September 16, 2014
Wha..?
These are amazing. I would really like to know what that family are doing in the middle of the road with the 90k speed limit. And I would really love to see some of the interiors of people's apartments there.
The artist's other photo essays on that site are going to keep me busy for a while. The Metro, Luxor Treasure etc. I bet even the Corporate portfolio is intriguing.
posted by glasseyes at 3:15 PM on September 16, 2014
These are amazing. I would really like to know what that family are doing in the middle of the road with the 90k speed limit. And I would really love to see some of the interiors of people's apartments there.
The artist's other photo essays on that site are going to keep me busy for a while. The Metro, Luxor Treasure etc. I bet even the Corporate portfolio is intriguing.
posted by glasseyes at 3:15 PM on September 16, 2014
Apparently horses can go up lifts but not down them and what the hell am I typing
posted by BiggerJ at 6:25 AM on September 17, 2014
posted by BiggerJ at 6:25 AM on September 17, 2014
What I find beautiful about these images is the persistence of pastoral traditions and rituals even after the pastoral has long since been engulfed by grim, dehumanizing housing estates.
posted by Flashman at 5:49 PM on September 18, 2014
posted by Flashman at 5:49 PM on September 18, 2014
What I find beautiful here is the persistence of pastoral traditions and rituals even after the pastoral has long since been engulfed by these rather grim and dehumanizing housing estates.
posted by Flashman at 5:51 PM on September 18, 2014
posted by Flashman at 5:51 PM on September 18, 2014
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posted by spacewaitress at 7:37 PM on September 15, 2014