In the small gallery we are showing a selection of postcards by Nicole Gravier. This young Frenchwoman has investigated the use of ‘famous places’ by the makers of postcards and by amateur photographers who so often place themselves and their families in front of the familiar objects. ‘Why is a happy snap of the family taken in dull weather in front of the Arc de Triomphe much more satisfying than the glossy, sunny commercial card?’.
The experiments have resulted in her personal series of postcards taken not only in Paris but throughout France, carrying the idea through to places painted by Cezanne and Van Gogh. Together with the original cards they make a fascinating ‘conception’ and the logical way in which it has been carried through makes one re-think the whole idea of ‘the picture postcard’.
Text from original exhibition leaflet, 1974
For further information on this and past exhibitions, visit our Archive and Study Room.
