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.

Credits: © Man Ray 2015 Trust / ADAGP, Paris 2023 / Womanray

Curated path

August Sander, Sekretärin beim Westdeutschen Rundfunk Köln, 1931 © Die Photographische Sammlung/ SK Stiftung Kultur; August Sander Archiv, Köln: VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2024 - On view booth A24

Carmen Calvo, Ella ha sido hallada, 2003, courtesy Luis Adelantado Gallery - On view booth C26

Daido Moriyama, provoke (mayfly), 1972, © Daido Moriyama, courtesy IBASHO - On view booth B50

Daisuke Yokota, untitled from taratine series, 2015, courtesy Stieglitz19 - On view booth A14

David Hockney, John St. Clair Swimming, 1972, courtesy Equinox - On view booth B07

Dawoud Bey, Untitled #1 (From Night Coming Tenderly, Black), 2018, courtesy the artist and Stephen Daiter - On view booth C13

Deborah Turbeville, Untitled (Isabelle Weingraten and Aurelia Weingarten), 1980, courtesy Christophe Gaillard - On view booth E35

Dora Maar, Photo Mode II, 1931, courtesy Edwynn Houk - On view booth C25

FLORE, untitled from the series Les Jardins de Josef, 2023, courtesy Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière - On view booth B31

Gordon Parks, Untitled, 1951. Courtesy Jenkins Johnson Gallery, © The Gordon Parks Foundation. - On view booth B10

John Kayser, sans titre, 1973, courtesy christian berst art brut - On view booth A43

Joseph Sterling, Untitled (From The Adolescent Comedy),
1959-63, courtesy Stephen Daiter - On view booth C13

Kenshichi Heshiki, Untitled, 1975, © estate of Kenshichi Heshiki courtesy IBASHO - On view booth B50

Letizia Battaglia, The Ball. New Year's Eve at Villa Airoldi, 1985, courtesy Archivio Letizia Battaglia and Alberto Damian - On view booth D55

Libuše Jarcovjáková, Model, 1992, courtesy Fotograf Contemporary - On view booth V02

Lisetta Carmi, I travestiti, 1965-1967, courtesy Martini & Ronchetti - On view booth C42

Lisetta Carmi, I travestiti, la Sissi, 1965, courtesy Martini & Ronchetti - On view booth C42

Man Ray, Rayogramme, 1947, courtesy Photo Discovery / Bruno Tartarin - On view booth C19

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, La buena fama durmiendo 3, 1939, © Archivo Manuel Alvarez Bravo, S.C., courtesy RGR - On view booth C28

Michael Ackerman, New York, 2023, courtesy Camera Obscura - On view booth C03

Miguel Rio Branco, Snookers for Brassai, 1972, courtesy Paci contemporary gallery - On view booth A15

Nobuyoshi Araki, LIFE, 1972-1973, courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film - On view booth B37

Paolo Roversi, Audrey, Comme des Garçons, 1997, courtesy Camera Obscura - On view booth C03

Peter Hujar, Catacomb Palermo, 1963, Copyright: Peter Hujar Archive, LLC; Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY, courtesy Stephen Daiter - On view booth C13

Pierre Molinier, Luciano Castelli, 1975, courtesy Christophe Gaillard - On view booth E35

Robert Frank, Jack Kerouac – NYC, 1965; © The June Leaf and Robert Frank Foundation; courtesy Pace Gallery - On view booth A36

Robert Frank, Trolley, New Orleans, 1955, courtesy Photo Discovery / Bruno Tartarin - On view booth C19

Sally Mann, Gorjus, 1989, courtesy Edwynn Houk - On view booth C25

Saul Leiter, Inez, 1947, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery - On view booth C24

Saul Leiter, Untitled, (Soames, nude), 1960, courtesy Gallery FIFTY ONE - On view booth B13

Seydou Keïta, Sans titre/Untitled, 1954-1960, Courtesy CAAC - The Pigozzi Collection & Galerie Nathalie Obadia - On view booth C37

William Henry Fox Talbot, Lacock woodyard through lattice window, c. 1839-1840, Shaaf 4661, courtesy Hans P. Kraus, Jr. Inc. - On view booth C22

Xiu Liang, Storage Animal, 2016, courtesy Three Shadows +3 - On view booth B45

Zanele Muholi, Owakhe X, Sheraton, Brooklyn, New York, 2019, courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson - On view booth A44