Sim Barr

Les Amies de Place Blanche

In 1956, the Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm created a homebase in a hotel of the Place Blanche, where the clientele was primarily composed of transexuals. Strömholm immersed himself in this community in 1950s + 60s Paris when it was against the law for men to dress as women in public (a 2 century old law that was not repealed until 2013!)

"This is a book about the quest for self-identity, about the right to live, about the right to own + control one's own body." - Strömholm in 1983 with the books 1st publication

#lesamiesdeplaceblanche #christerströmholm #paris #50sstyle #photography #60sstyle #fotografia #fotografie

Mar 27 at 3:51pmWeb
Show threadMidgePhotoMar 27
@simbarr Sumptuary laws have assorted reasons and effects, but this was daft.
Still, losing custom would hamper the gamine.
Show threadMidgePhotoMar 27
This was a snap I took which has that look in it, I think.
Show threadneromancerMar 27
@simbarr I saw an exhibition of his photographs at the Modern Museum in Stockholm. An amazing photographer!
https://www.modernamuseet.se/stockholm/en/exhibitions/arbus-model-stromholm/christer-stromholm/
Christer Strömholm Biography – Moderna Museet i Stockholm

Christer Strömholm is one of the major celebrities of Swedish photography. He was born in Stockholm and converted from graphic art to photography in the late-1940s. He was deeply influenced by the German group Fotoform, which advocated and practised a creative, intimate style of photography. Strömholm’s photographs from the early-1950s are stark black-and-white compositions of wall surfaces, shadows and stylised environments.

Moderna Museet i Stockholm