Christer Strömholm

[maaarc]

wish I could have hung out with this guy while he was roaming the streets of Paris. Bright lights big city and beautiful girls.

Christer Strömholm: Les Amies de Place Blanche
MAY 18–SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

Christer Strömholm (1918–2002) was one of the great photographers of the 20th century, but he is little known outside of his native Sweden. His most powerful and acclaimed body of work: Les Amies de Place Blanche, a documentation of transsexual "ladies of the night" in Paris in the 1960s. Arriving in Paris in the late 1950s, Strömholm settled in Place Blanche in the heart of the city's red-light district. There, he befriended and photographed young transsexuals struggling to live as women and to raise money for sex-change operations. Strömholm's surprisingly intimate portraits and lush Brassaï-like night scenes form a magnificent, dark, and at times quite moving photo album, a vibrant tribute to these girls, the "girlfriends of Place Blanche." The photographs were first published in Sweden in 1983, and the book quickly sold out, becoming a cult classic; it is being reissued in Strömholm's photo-essay raises profound issues about sexuality and gender; as he wrote in 1983, "It was then—and still is—about obtaining the freedom to choose one's own life and identity."

[Prospero]

Nice stuff maarc

[Stavros]

Great post!

I used to have another pictorial book on transexuals in Paris, I think it was published in the 1980s but I lost it when I moved some years ago and can't remember what it was called and can't find it on google. There was also a pictorial book on Australian transexuals by Barry Kay, The Other Women, published in 1976-
http://www.barry-kay-archive.org/PHO..._Intro_en.html

The scene in Pigalle was based around the Rue des Martyrs on the north side, and on the south side around Place Blanche, particularly on the Rue de Bruxelles, where there was a small number living in an apartment block behind the cafe (these days the Palmier but I think it has changed hands since the 1970s); a few also lived on the Rue de Douai but did not work from there, although (in the late 70s) I was once propositioned by a girl who was on her way to the Bois. The scene ended in the 1990s as the demand for accommodation has changed the whole of Pigalle, and ended the street scene that once was vibrant. On any late afternoon/night there were about 15 to 20 girls in total, and many even by today's standards were outstanding, and one of them also got a small part in a film with Alain Delon, but I can't recall the name of it.
On the north side, Rue des Martyrs and the streets around it (German Pilon for example) were also hot. I don't know how Madame Arthur or Chez Michou (on Rue des Martyrs) survive but they do. For those who are interested, the near-derelict south side of the Place Pigalle is due for extensive renovation in the next 5-10 years.

[maaarc]

thanks for all the info Stavros - much appreciated

[jodahunta]

Loved this post Maaarc ... it brought back some special memories.

My own odyssey into the Dark Side began about 200 meters from where this lady is standing ....



..... at around 11am one beautiful spring morning back in in May 1982.

And I've never looked back ... in fact it just keeps getting better

[pablo12]

Stavros, the book "Creatures" by Andre Berg maybe ? I can remember the blurb from the ad for it. "Pour vous se devoile les plus beaux travestis du monde entier"

[Stavros]

Stavros, the book "Creatures" by Andre Berg maybe ? I can remember the blurb from the ad for it. "Pour vous se devoile les plus beaux travestis du monde entier"

Thanks for the tip, Pablo, but no, it was not his work. I am annoyed with myself for not being able to remember the title, and none of the bibliographies of transgender books I see on the web list it. The list varies, some will list Kris Kirk's Men in Frocks, for example, others do not. I will continue to search.



If you or anyone else is interested in what the scene was like in the 1970s and 1980s, the website of the late Yvonne Sinclair, who died last year, has lots of photos which do reflect what it was like before the days when Thailand and Singapore became accessible and globalisation brought many beautiful girls to our shores.
http://www.yvonnesinclair.co.uk/page...0Sinclair.html