Christer Stromholm: ‘Les Nuits de Place Blanche’ – Celebrating Life of Transsexuals in Paris in 50’s & 60’s

Christer Strömholm, also known by the pseudonym Christer Christian, was a Swedish photographer and educator. He is known for his intimate black and white street photography portrait series, particularly his portraits of transgender women in Paris.

France – 

Christer Strömholm (Stockholm, Sweden, 1918–2001) is one of the most important European photographers of the twentieth century. He spent most of his life in Sweden, but he made France, and especially Paris, his second home. His series about the transsexuals of the Place Blanche was produced between 1958 and 1968. In the first edition of the book Les amies de Place Blanche (Vännerna från Place Blanche), published by ETC/ Johan Ehrenberg in Stockholm in 1983, Strömholm says:

“These are images from another time. A time when de Gaulle was president and France was at war against Algeria. These are images of people whose lives I shared and whom I think I understood.These are images of women –biologically born as men– that we call ‘transsexuals.’As for me, I call them ‘my friends of Place Blanche.’ This friendship started here, in the early 60s, and still continues.”


stromholm_7

                                          Images © Christer Strömholm Estate, Stockholm.


Photography and Published by RM Editorial, Les Nuits de Place Blanche
 immerses the reader in Parisian nightlife of the 50s and 60s, more specifically in the transsexual community in the neighborhood near Pigalle Square. Christer Strömholm, considered the father of Swedish contemporary photography, portrayed the characters in an intimate and exuberant way, either in the street or in the hotel rooms they were living. According to the photographer, this work is about one’s freedom to choose one’s own life and identity. Over the time, those images have become poignant reminders of human frailties and strengths. The series exudes fragility and beauty and symbolizes what working with photography means to Strömholm: the opportunity to deepen into big questions of life, such as love, death and human loneliness.

Related Posts

Hossein Farmani: “Many French organisations think that they own photography”

U.S.A – Hossein Farmani lends himself to the very forefront of the arts community; his passions have led him to ...

Cuong Do Manh : TWINS

Vietnam – “Twins” is an intimate portrait of Huy and Hung – a pair of albino twin brothers who live ...

Kodama- Hajime Kimura

Japan – 12th March, 2008, cloudy “The river in the bottom of the ravine was half frozen. It was a ...

Thomas Mailaender: “Illustrated People” – 23 Original Negatives, Powerful UV Lamp and Painful-Looking Skin-Based Photos

France –  “Illustrated People” is the translation into book form of a performance by Thomas Mailaender. He applied to the ...

Jason Larkin: Tales From the City of Gold

South-Africa A city built on gold, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, when settlers and immigrants descended on the largest reef ...

Francois Hebel : The Arles Aesthetic

France –  Francois Hebel, one of the most influential man in photography today boasts of a prolific career, spanning 12 ...

Colin Pantall on Paul Gaffney’s We Make the Path by Walking

Ireland – Paul Gaffney sent me his lovely book, We Make the Path by Walking. It’s a gorgeous book that creates a ...

Erik van der Weijde: Home is where the Dog is

Holland –   Photography feature – Erik van der Weijde has produced more then 40 publications. Home is where the Dog is, his latest one, continues his ...

Wasma Mansour: ‘I would really like to widen the debate on Saudi women’

Saudi Arabia  – Wasma Mansour shoots intimate scenes and portraits in large format and elucidates the great in the mundane. ...