An American in Perpignan.

Tuesday, 4 September 2007

John McDermott Dispatch from Perpignan Day two.

I’ve never seen a dog in an art gallery in the USA. But this isn’t America, it’s France, and today I saw two Chihuahuas accompanying their owners to see the impressive career retrospective exhibition of former Time photojournalist Dirck Halstead's work. I interviewed and photographed Dirck today at his show at Perpignan’s Ancienne Université. The show is not only an overview of Halstead’s versatility, but also a sweeping look at American presidential history since John F Kennedy. Dirck is a master storyteller and chatting to him for a couple of hours was fascinating. He tells a back-story about his now-famous cover photo of Bill Clinton embracing Monica Lewinsky - a cautionary tale for digital photographers. And his views on where the future of photojournalism lies are already stimulating a lot of discussion. Check it out in the ‘In Front of the Lens’ section.

Photographers were starting to arrive in town in greater numbers. Today, at the Café' de la Poste, I met a group of young Spanish photographers from Seville, Cadiz and Madrid. They had all piled into an old Volkswagen van and made the drive together, looking to make contacts on which they could build careers and see the work of.

Back at the Palais de Congrès the various photo agencies were putting final touches on their stands and offices, preparing for what will no doubt be a rush of activity in the next few days as Visa pour l’Image really gets rolling. I’ll be back tomorrow to keep you up to date.

John McDermott Dispatch from Perpignan Day Two.