Quai de la Seine, the reader, Paris, 1957. © Adolfo Kaminsky (l.) – The bookseller, Paris, 1948. © Adolfo Kaminsky (r.)
Resistant and counterfeiter. The incredible destiny of Adolfo Kaminsky has been known since his daughter Sarah revealed it to the world through a fascinating book in 2009, Adolfo Kaminsky, a forger's life (at Calmann-Lévy).
Born in 1925 in Argentina into a Jewish family, the latter grew up in Normandy, was passionate about chemistry and inks, and specialized, in Paris, in the manufacture of fake paper during the Occupation.
From the age of 17, he allowed many Jews to escape persecution. After the Second World War, he committed himself to decolonization and continued his clandestine "art" for thirty years, for different liberation movements, especially in Algeria and the rest of the African continent, and for people oppressed by dictatorships, particularly in South America.
Child at the fountain, Paris, 1948. © Adolfo Kaminsky
Still, he refuses to be paid. In 1971, he made his last false paper, and put a definitive end to this activity.
The Museum of Art and History of Judaism (mahJ) paid tribute in 2019 to this singular and little-known figure of the Resistance. We then discover that he is also a photographer whose work has long remained ignored due to his commitments, his natural discretion and his partly clandestine existence.
After the Liberation, however, he took thousands of photos, offering a chiaroscuro look at the world and Paris of those years.
What interests him is the popular. From the flea markets of Saint-Ouen to the neon lights of Pigalle, he captures Parisian looks and silhouettes with simplicity.
The Puncher, 1955 © Adolfo Kaminsky
Its snapshots that merge with the search for truth. These days, we can delight in the images of our astonishing contemporary, now in his nineties.
They are hung – as it should be for a street photographer – in the street, on three sides of the gates of the Paris Center town hall (the former town hall of the 3rd) until February 26. You have to take the time to stop there. And, with Kaminsky, immerse yourself in this lost Paris. So far and yet so close.
Paris Center Town Hall
2 rue Eugène Spuller 75003, Paris
Monday to Friday from 8h30 to 17h
Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tel: +01 87 02 61 00
Adolfo Kaminsky, forger and photographer – © Paris Center Town Hall
Text: Katia Barillot
13.01.22
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS A MUST SEE
The Marais Crossings 2024: surprises and emotions (from 13/15 to 09/XNUMX)
From September 13 to 15, 2024, Le Marais celebrates the 10th anniversary of its cultural festival “Les Traversées du Marais”. Under the theme of “Surprise”, this anniversary edition promises to shake up the senses and certainties of strollers, in a district where history rubs shoulders with the avant-garde.
The cardboard forest at Galleria Continua
The Galleria Continua is an exhibition hall, a café, a bookstore and a grocery store covering eight hundred square meters. This Italian gallery which thrives in Tuscany and Rome opened in Paris in 2021. It is currently exhibiting the works of Eva Jospin, daughter of Lionel, for the first time in this gallery in the Marais.
With the artist Malacarne, we dive into the Big Blue
Why go to the sea when you can find it in le Marais, at the Menouar gallery, rue du Parc-Royal? Here, we dive directly into the Big Blue with the work of Malacarne, a post-impressionist artist of reflection, light and water whose brush caresses the surface of the sea.
NOW ON LE MARAIS MOOD
The Marais Crossings 2024: surprises and emotions (from 13/15 to 09/XNUMX)
From September 13 to 15, 2024, Le Marais celebrates the 10th anniversary of its cultural festival “Les Traversées du Marais”. Under the theme of “Surprise”, this anniversary edition promises to shake up the senses and certainties of strollers, in a district where history rubs shoulders with the avant-garde.
Heritage Days 2024: the secrets of the Marais
Le Marais, an architectural showcase of historic Paris, is preparing to reveal its hidden treasures during the 2024 Heritage Days. This district, once a marshland that became a stronghold of the nobility in the XNUMXth century, is home to an exceptional density of private mansions and historic buildings, silent witnesses to the splendor of yesteryear.
Private cruise on the Seine: a perfect moment
Like the Olympic athletes at the opening ceremony, Le Marais Mood embarked on a cruise on the Seine. But for a private cruise, in a small group (six passengers), with champagne on tap. This is what Green River Cruises offers for 450 euros for a one and a half hour cruise.
