Christian Rose (1946-2023), photographing music
An exhibition Beyond the Walls at Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris (BHVP).
24 rue Pavée, Paris 4e, France.
Free admission.
Christian Rose spent fifty years photographing the Paris music scene, capturing the energy of concerts in black and white and color. His work was bequeathed to the Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris in 2023.
Christian Rose took up photography at the age of 19. Fascinated by black American music, his interest naturally gravitated towards Parisian stages hosting foreign musicians and groups, particularly from across the Atlantic, including Americans and Jamaicans.
Over the course of fifty years, he attended thousands of concerts, often spotting the greatest talents from their very first appearances. From Janis Joplin to Snoop Dogg, from the Chapelle des Lombards to the Pantin hippodrome, he covers all the venues that have marked the history of jazz, rock and pop.
He has always had a predilection for black and white, which he uses brilliantly to photograph the jazz scene, but from his youth he also developed a remarkable mastery of color. His photographs convey both the energy and emotion of the musicians on stage.
In 2023, Christian Rose's entire body of work was donated to the Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris by his son Franck Rose. The collection is distributed exclusively by Roger-Viollet.