Jim Jarmusch

Guest of the 27th edition of Paris Photo

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, Paris Photo invites filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Jim Jarmusch to curate a personal selection of artworks on show, which will be held at the Grand Palais from November 7 to 10, 2024. The artist will also participate in a conversation open to the public.

The film Return to Reason brings together four recently restored films by Man Ray, for which Jim Jarmusch composed original music with his group SQÜRL. It will be projected as a preview in two theaters in Paris during the fair. The public release is scheduled for November 13.

“Surrealism, a major influence on Jim Jarmusch, celebrates its centenary this year and finds a unique resonance in the selection he has curated for the fair. This selection fosters a dialogue between cinema, music, and visual art.”
Florence Bourgeois, Paris Photo director

Credits: © Josefina Santos

Jim Jarmusch and photography

Born in Akron, Ohio, Jim Jarmusch lives and works in New York. He is a filmmaker, writer, musician and artist. His films include Permanent Vacation (1980), Stranger than Paradise (1984), Down by Law (1986), Mystery Train (1989), Night on Earth (1991), Dead Man (1995), Year of the Horse (1997), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Broken Flowers (2005), The Limits of Control (2009), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), Paterson (2016), Gimme Danger (2016), The Dead Don’t Die (2019), and the short Int. Trailer. Night. (2002).

Jim Jarmusch has a strong connection to photography, which has significantly influenced his films. He was a close friend and admirer of Robert Frank, whose 100th birthday will be celebrated at the fair this year. Jarmusch was “[...] captivated by Frank’s constant evolution, his relentless breaking of conventions and preconceived notions that could have confined his art” (Libération, 2019).

Alongside his cinematic creations, Jim Jarmusch is also a practicing visual artist. He has made photographs for many years and has created hundreds of newsprint collages. His collage work is collected in the book Some Collages (Anthology Editions, 2021). He exhibited his collage work in New York at James Fuentes gallery in 2021, at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2023 and has an upcoming exhibition with James Fuentes Gallery in Los Angeles next year.

Return to Reason - 4 films by Man Ray with original music
by SQÜRL

In parallel, Jim Jarmusch continues to cultivate his musical practice with his avant-garde post-rock group, alongside Carter Logan, as SQÜRL, with whom he pays homage to Man Ray. Return to Reason features all four of Man Ray’s films in their entirety, accompanied by music from SQÜRL. A preview of the film will take place in Paris during Paris Photo.

Le Retour à la raison is the first short film directed by Man Ray, who in 1923 explored the cinematic medium as an extension of his work in painting and photography. A century later, in 2023, SQÜRL created semi-improvised music for Man Ray’s four masterpieces: Le retour à la raison (1923), Emak-Bakia (1926), L’étoile de mer (1928), and Les mystères du château du Dé (1929).

The film was produced by Womanray, committed to the artistic project, which oversaw the restoration and preservation of the four films.

Stay tuned to discover more about the curated path by Jim Jarmusch...