Michel GINIES (1952) - Lot 188

Michel GINIES (1952) Midnight on the Grand Boulevard 1972 Silver print On the back, artist's stamp and copyright, titled, dated and numbered 2/25 Dimensions: 30 x 40 cm Note: This photograph by Michel Giniès captures the nocturnal atmosphere of the Grands Boulevards in the early 1970s, around the cinema "Le Midi-Minuit", famous for its erotic programming. The illuminated sign and posters - "Caresses interdites" ("Forbidden Caresses") - dominate the scene, testifying to the evolution of mores in a society still marked by censorship. The play of contrasts, between the dark silhouettes of passers-by and the brightness of the neon lights, gives the image a film noir aesthetic, where the city becomes a theater of desire and transgression. The cars in the foreground accentuate the depth of the image, setting the scene in a lively, working-class Paris. Here, Giniès provides an accurate account of Parisian nightlife, with its modernity, voyeurism and burgeoning freedom, characteristic of the post-68 years.