I first came across the work of French photographer Cyrille Weiner on The Quiet Life Camera Club, an art appreciation project from L.A. design group The Quiet Life. The online gallery showcases submissions from a diverse array of photographers, resulting in a hodgepodge of everything from accidental masterpieces by snap-happy amateurs to ostentatious pixel frescoes by celebrated professionals. The Quiet Life has already published two collections of images in book form that you can pick up at art-book vendors like Giant Robot.
Cyrille Weiner is a 31-year-old Parisian who went to graduate school to study Economics before changing disciplines entirely and pursuing the artistic life he was destined for all along. According to the garbled Google translation of his bio page, Weiner is interested in exploring the “porosity between public space planned and intimate space.” Looking at his work, you kind of get a feel for what that means: land use and ownership, architecture, and the interplay of nature and city are major themes of the photographer’s work. Weiner’s focus on social change and urban development are no doubt informed by his background in economics, but his skill lies in an ability to deftly juxtapose cold modernism against startling humanity.
The photos included in this post are images from Weiner’s outstanding Avenue Jenny series, which captures a lower class neighborhood frozen in time, faced with the inevitable onward march of time as urban sprawl encroaches upon their placid lives. |
