A reception with the artist was held one week into my Paris Insolite photography exhibit at the Boston French Library Alliance Française and what a delightful evening it turned out to be. Despite the fact that there were other events going on in Bean Town, including an appearance by Hillary Clinton at Symphony Hall (in case you missed it, see it here on YouTube), 77 people came to sip wine, look at the photographs, ask me questions about same and, most of all, to chat with each other. The room overflowed and at times the noise was so loud that it was hard to hear and be heard. Many who came were friends, acquaintances and former business associates Others just came to see the show and stayed to talk. The reception, scheduled to last 1 1/2 hours, lasted a full two hours. The picture on the left was taken of Charles and me after almost everyone had left.
I was touched and pleased by the people who made the effort to show up, especially when I learned of the terrible traffic jams caused by the Clinton appearance. Folks from Lexington with whom I used to work and hadn't seen for years were there. My manicurist, bearing flowers, brought her husband, her brother and his wife. Our cats' veterinarian came with her fiancé and her technical assistant. Many friends and acquaintances from the Back Bay came as did fellow Francophiles Ginger and Foster, of whom we see more in Paris than in Boston. Photographer Robert Castagna, who is now showing his work at the Rolly-Michaux Gallery in the Back Bay, came to lend his support. (Here is a link to a page with some of the remarkable photographs from his series, Kyoto in its Seasons.) Then there were the young people and other members of the French Library who took the time to talk to me. One young man chatted with me for a while then asked me to autograph my business card and clutched it happily to his chest as he left. A young woman asked it she could email me for advice about her own photography efforts. It was touching and very humbling.
I was having a really fine time, when Sophie Koenig, the Library's Cultural Programs Planner & Web Editor gently pulled me away from the people I was talking to for the formal part of the event. This was the only part that I didn't enjoy. There I was, standing under lights meant to illuminate photographs, not women of a certain age, feeling very, very naked without my camera to hide behind. I suppose there was a certain poetic justice in that, but still.... We had agreed ahead of time that I would not make any remarks, but Elaine Uzan Leary, the Library's Executive Director, was fascinated by the photographs of Belleville, in part because her first husband was a Tunisian Jew whose family had settled in Belleville as part of the first major influx of immigrants into the area in the early 20th century. She wanted to know what had drawn me into photographing the area and that gave me an opportunity to talk about my logitudinal project of trying to capture the Belleville of today and the impact of the every changing ethnic mix of the population.
Many were generous in sharing with me which picture or pictures they liked best and why, which I greatly appreciated. Particularly gratifying was the number of people who were intrigued by the Belleville collection. What pleased me most, however, was the excitement of those who know Paris well who were drawn to the picture on the left taken looking down the rue de Belleville toward the Pompidou Center and beyond to the hills on the other side of city. They couldn't believe that they had never seen this particular view before.
By the end of the evening, several photographs had sold, which was pleasing for me and great for the Library. It will use its proceeds to further programs for children among other efforts. But best of all, it was a good party.
Many friends and family members made the exhibit possible by encouraging me, inspiring me, prodding me, and supporting my photography efforts over the past few years. I am deeply grateful to each and everyone of them. Special thanks, however, go to my patient, incredibly supportive sherpa, Charles, to our wonderful friend Chris, without whose generous gifts of time and knowledge the exhibit would not be as classy as it is, and last, but not least, to fellow photographer, Bill, who took me on my first Belleville photo shoot.
