- Christophe Agou
-
Christophe Agou (born 1969, Montbrison, France) is a French documentary photographer currently living in New York City.
Contents
Biography
Since the early 1990s, Christophe Agou has been building up a body of compelling photographs that take an allusive approach to the human condition. He is noted for his intimate and personal documentary-style black-and-white and colour photographs. Christophe had extended his expression into other media, always working intuitively, making assemblages and short films.
Self-taught photographer, Christophe Agou grew up in a small town in the Forez region. He moved to New York in 1992 where he developed a love for the city and for photography. He began making photographs in the streets and within that work he evoked a sense of longing and isolation. He first came to prominence with his powerful photographs made in the New York City Subway, and published Life Below in 2004 (Quantuck Lane Press / W.W. Norton & Company).
Agou's work is held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The Akron Art Museum, Akron; Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona;The New-York Historical Society; The New York Public Library, New York City and Les Galeries Photo Fnac, France.
In 2006, he was chosen as a finalist for both the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Award, and for le Prix de la Photographie de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2008. He received a ‘Mention Spéciale‘ for Le Prix Kodak de la Critique Photographique in 2009. In 2010, Christophe Agou won the prestigious European Publishers Award for Photography for his project Face au Silence.
Life Below
For his Life Below series Christophe Agou presents a moving, lyrical, and surprisingly personal portrait of the New York subway. The revealing images of fleeting acquaintances and proximity are often shot at such a close range, one marvels at the accomplishment, and sees in them something enduring and timeless. The compelling photographs are an intimate rendezvous with people in a meditative state: people from all walks of life who have not yet put on a mask. This is at times a dark, but always-sensitive view of a corner of our world.
Face au Silence / In The Face of Silence
In the winter of 2002, Christophe Agou began documenting the lives of French family farmers living and working in the Forez region, which lies on the eastern side of the Massif Central. This is the region where he was born and lived until the age of 16, a region for which he still has a deep affection. Christophe traveled to the lesser-known parts of the region, where he felt inspired by the silence and moved by the authenticity and charisma of the people he encountered. Over time, and through the gradual process of building trust and friendship, the farmers and their families accepted him and allowed him to both photograph and film their daily existence. The work goes beyond just documenting their labor-intensive lives and present a deeper, more intimate portrait. For Christophe Agou, Face au Silence is a meditation on life and death as well as the silence and solitude that are ever-present in our lives.
Statements by Christophe Agou about his work
The distance between a photographer and his subject should not be greater than his arm's length
When I use the camera, I often feel like I know part of the person or place I come in contact with.
Looking and seeing are two different notions. One is to observe without being seen, the other, is to create an emotional connection with your subject.
The mysteries of the human soul fascinate me the most and photography allows me to reveal on a deeper level what is under the surface.
Collections
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA
- Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase, USA
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Washington D.C., USA
- The Akron Art Museum Akron, USA
- Southeast Museum of Photography Daytona, USA
- The New York Public Library New York, USA
- The New-York Historical Society New York, USA
- Galeries Photo-Fnac Paris, France
- Collection of The Joy of Giving Something, New York, USA
Monographs
- Life Below, The New York City Subway, Quantuck Lane Press / W.W. Norton & Company - published 2004, ISBN 1593720084
- Face au Silence, Actes Sud - published 2010, ISBN 2742795421
- In the Face of Silence, Dewi Lewis Publishing - published 2011, ISBN 1907893040
- Di Fronte al Silenzio, Peliti Associati - published 2011, ISBN 888941247X
- Gesichter der Stille, Edition Braus - published 2011, ISBN 3862280039
- Ante el Silencio, Lunwerg Editores - published 2011, ISBN 9788497857185
- Aπέναντι Στη Σιωπή, Apeiron Photos - published 2011
Exhibitions
- 2011: Rencontres d'Arles Festival, France.
External links
Categories:- French photographers
- Street photographers
- Living people
- 1969 births
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
