"In the absence of the parisienne .. . "

M olly N esbit

Q llestiON: G iven that space and sexual ity need to be thou ght ill co m bination, w here do wc find the co III binarion?

.A II ~we r.' Paris.

Q llcslion : How in th e combinat ion arc we to ident ify sexuality .md space , by wh at figur es, throug h w h,u concepts?

A rlswer: T here is, for starters, the parisiennc.

Qllcstion: C an Pari s be separa ted [rom the pnrisicnnc? What wo uld she (for Paris is a wo ma n) su ffer [rom that lo ss o f fem ininity? Would there be a wo ma n left i f th e parisicune were to ~o? Would Paris rever t (0 the antique character, to the m an?

." lI5 wcr; Let us turn co the documents, Argcr 's docu ments , whe re urban space is rend ered picto rial. And CO a preliminary form ulatio n.

l Eugene Atgec C , II ',<CH

30 7

- ~ - --- - -- - - /

JO ~

_ • . - ...... f" -_ ...

T HJ: P1H,LI MIN AR V FO RMUL ATIO N . In 19 I 1, a fter a begi n ning

th at we mi ght go so far as ro call a false st art, Eu g ene Arg cr 's pro­

j ect (o ne o f many projects, by the w ay) to ph otograph th e m odern

life and mores o fPar is moved into a seco nd phase. There it cu t th e umb ilical cord 10 th e bourg eoisie, to its modern , and to one of the

bourgeoisie 's favori te idea s , vir . that in Paris m o d ern ity was all

th at revolved around fashi on, re d ly th e fashionabk female body,

or th e parisiennc. l The parisienne w as far more th an a type; she

stood (o r th e ci ty's women of w hateve r class so long as they we re

be autiful and :I little bit tan ; finall y she carne to st and for th e city

itself. The c ity wa s forever co n fused with these women; th e to ur­

is ts we re co n (used b y rhe in One ofJoyce 's Dublincrs, th e g audy

Ign atius G all agher, slimmed lip th e wonders o f toe city by rn ar vc]­

in g , "There's no w o m an like the Pari sicnnc-for sty le , fo r go . " >

Yet Atget could see a Pari s beyond se x ual ity. H e all ow ed th e image

of the parisiennc to flutter w eirdly [or a m oment in three pi ctures

taken of sh ops just offof the g rand bou levard (fIg u re I) , but only as

a m annik in, as if to remind th e viewer just how far from th e cli ches

this project had come. No g o . The porisi enne's bod y di sappea red

altogether fro m the proj ect; the empt iness th at had a lwa ys char ac­

terized his d ocuments deepened; th ey took o n the colo r o f grief,

repression , lo ss , and th en lack. (A lack , it should be added , o((~' m­

ininity.) T h is Paris wa s neither uieux nor particularly g ay. Atget

was iso lat ing a third c it y, 3 city that wo re neither it s heart nor its

mores on its slee ve , an d perhap s because of thi s it seem ed (Jll~e t­

tied , con to r ted, plagued by a persist ent, whistlin g ostranenic .

The process of'scparatin g space fro m sexu ality w as done , chou, in the interest o f isol ati ng the thi rd city, w h ich potentiall y hel d all

un fertcrcd im age of modernity The process was not parti cularly

quick nor w as it s moo th, ill part be cau se th e im age o f th e th ird city

h ad to be di scovered . In a ll, th ere were some five hu ndred pho co­gr;lphs made between [910 and 191 5 . Atget built from what ca n

1 Fo r a su s tained and ele gant alia lys is of the par is icnne and her significan , e

(or til ,' ima ge of inodc rn iry, sec Leila KIlIl 1<'y, "Boulevard C ulture and Mo dern Lift- Pain u ug ' (P h. D. dissc rra u o u . Yale U n ivcrsrt y, fo rthco mi ng): An dreas H ll y SSCIl , " MJ> ~ Culture as Wo m an, " ill h is book AJia the Creat Diu/d e: Modernism , 1\1",'3 C ,dll4 re, Posunodcmisni (Bl oomington: Indiana

Uni vcrs ity Pres s, 19 11 6). pp . 44-(,2 . 2 j am es j o yce, Du blincr: ( 1<)1.j: St. Al b an s: Panther, 19(7). p. 70 .

JOl)

IIOW be seen as his prelim inar y w o rk 011 mo d ernit y, the in teriors

nnd th e ve h icles . Those first projects b y i ll effect like a plane inside

his practi ce , in side hi s usu al w eb of exchan ges and reg u la r labors .

The next stag e in hi s work on m odernit y took that w eb as J g ive n;

It never actua lly broke with it and sometimes partici pated in its

des ign, bu t m ainl y It d id not. As ,I tirsr stc p, th e m,JeH l'S projec t was

ex panded from sees into a lar ge n u mbe r series . E ve r frugal, even

w ith his ow n series, Atgcr did not give the series a new name bur ins tea d rev ise d an ex ist ing series , the Poris pitioresqu«, th e one

which had held the petits metiers like the lampshade m an and the ai'lI/iere and w h ich had a lso held the scenes of c row ds like th e

~ ro llp watchi ng the har p ist and the pu ppets in the Lu xem bourg , a

se r ies w h ich had lain ina ctive for almost a d ecad e. The revision

\.V.lS d ras t ic ; wi th ir CJIHC' th e focus on rhc third city and a differ ent

se nse o f the pla cement of th e plane . The se r ies t wisted away (ro m

the old web of practi ce, rotanng th e plane lik e th e dial on a

padlock . At th at point the w e b was twisted away (ro m its usua l relation to knowledge and st retche d. T he entire se r ies strained to

co m m u n icate th e modernity of th e th ird cit y. But before :ln y com­mu nication could be made, Atgct ha d to b ring modern ity in to th e

docu men t somehow; increa singly he did so by set t in g o u t

.ib scncc, see ing m odernit y JS vacant holl o w space

In the new ph ose ofhis pr oj ect Acg cr began to define modern­

ity by cutting into the s ig ns of his document, as if to trim th em

down, and he extended the princi ple of cu tt ing CO h is sa m ple,

w h ich he was to s lice more and more shar ply. T he e ig h teenth­

ccn t u ry tab/filii de Paris W:l S shortened ; the nineteenth-century

/) !I )'-';ll/ogie.< were a di mm in g preced ent ; J pano ra m a was ne ve r COI1­

~ ld(' rc d. ,1 The cmpnncss rhar w as now being hewn was almo st \ \ prog ressive. The e m pt iness wa s the fo r m that had to m ake th e

connect ion to kn o wled g e, th ou gh the mech an ics o f t he con nect io n

3 0 11 the rrad iu on of tablenu de Pari.., (he inventories o f the popu lat ion .I<' cord lllg to their occu pat ions, sec Karlh eutz Sricrlc, "Baudelair e and [he ' j'n d l[lo lJ o f the Tableau de Pail S." N ell' Litciorv Hi,'/oI'Y II (19~o ) : 345-)1\1.

S" L' a lso Waller Beuj am iu , C harles Balldt:laire: A LYlic Poet ill file Era f!( H (~h

(:" 1';1,,11'< 11 1, tra ns. H arr v Z ohn (Lond o n: New Le ft Bo o ks, 197.1): Louis C hL' v'lher. C laSH'S laborieuscs " I classes dOIl,',(creu;c ,< ' (; Pori" pendant La premiere

"/""i i <ill X IX" sicctc (Pa ris : P io n , 1958): T J. C IJr k, Th e Pa illf ill.~ 4 M cld <'Y1I

LI(i: : Paris ill I/I I Ar, of Manet and H is Pol/ower.' (New York: K nop f. 19!i4):

j~"L1<' fl H a bert, lmprcssionism: Al l, Leisure, OIIJ Parisian 5,1(icI )' (N ,' w H aven . Yale Uni ver s ity Press , ly~8 ) .

I --~ -- - r - - ~

JO~

THE P R E L I M I N A R Y FORMULATIO N , ln 1<)11, afrer a beginn in g

that we mighr go so far as to (;111 a f.1lsc st art, E u gene Atg cr 's pro ­

ject (one of m an y p rojects , b y the w ay) to photo graph the m o d er n

lifc and mores o f Par is moved into J seco nd phase, There it cut the

umbili cal cord [0 the bourgeoisie . ro its modern , and to aile ofthe

bourg eoi sie 's favo ri te ideas , viz, th at in Paris modc ruit y wa s al!

th at revel ved a ro u nd fashi on , rCJ II y th e fash ionabl e fem ale' bod y,

or the parisienue. I The parisiennc was far m ore than a type; she sto o d for the c ity's wo men of wh at ever cl ass so long as the y w ere

beautifu l an d 3 lit t le bit rar t; fina lly she carne to s ta nd fo r the city

itself The city was fore ver con (used with th ese women ; the tour­

ists were confu sed by th em , One o f Jo yce 's Dublinc rs. the g audy

lg uar ius Gallagher, surnuicd up the wonde rs o f the city by m ar vel­

ing, "There's no woman like th e Par isicnnc-e for style. for go , " 2

Yet A tget could see a Pa ris be yond scxua lit y, H e 311 0wed the im age

of th e pnrisienne to flu t te r wei rdl y for a m oment in three pic tu res

tak en o f sho ps just o ffo f th e grand boulevard (tigu rc I), bu t onl y as

a mann ik in, as if to remind the viewer just how far from the cliches

thi s pr oject had co me. No g o . The parisiCllllc's bo dy di sappeared

altogether (ro m th e project: the e m pti ness th at had al w ay s charac­

terized his documents d eep ened; th ey took 011 the col or of grief,

repression , loss, and then lack , (A lack , it shou ld be ad ded , o(t(: m ­

in ini ty.) T h is Par is was ne ither uieux nor parti cularl y gay. Ar g or

was isolating J third city, ;1 city th at wore ne ither its heart nor its

mores 0 11 its s leeve , and pe rhaps becau se of thi s it seemed unset ­

tled , contorted , plagued by a persistent, w h is tli ng ostranenie.

Th e process o f se pa ra t ing space (rom sexu ality was d one , chen,

in the int erest of isolating th e third c ity, which potentiall y he ld all

unfettered image of modernity T he process was not particularly

quick nor was it s mo o th, ill part becau se the im age of th e th ird cit y

had to be discove red . In all, there were some five hundred photo ­

gra phs m ade between [9[ 0 and 191) , A tget b ui lt fro m w ha t ca n

1 For ,1 sus tuncd and elegant ana lys is otthe pans icnuc and her sig n ificance

(or th l' image of mo dcrniry, sec Leila Km ncy, " Bo uleva rd Cult ur e :11I0

M o der n Life- Painnng" (Ph .D. disscrtauon , Yak Uni vcrsit y, (onhcoming): And rea s Huv sscn , "M:J ,s Cultur e as WOlllan , " III Ius book AJia I lit, emit

Divide: Modernism, Mass CIIJlure, Posimodcruism (Bloounngron : lndiana U n ive rs ity Press. 1 9 ~6 ) , pp, 44-(,2 .

2 james j ovce . Dubliucr, (1')14; Sr . Albans : Pan th er , 19(7), p, 70 ,

JO<)

!lOW be see n JS h is prelimi nary work o n modernity, th e mtcriors

and the vehicles, Tho se first projects LJy in effect like a plan e inside

his p ract ice . inside h is usual w eb o f excha nges and regula r labors.

The nex t s tage in hi s wor k 0 11 modern ity too k char w e b as a g ive n:

tr never ac tu ally br oke wi th J( and somet imes participated in its

design. bur m ainl y it did 1I0 t. As a fir st s te p, the I I JOCIIf5 pr oject WJS

ex panded from sets into a lar g e number series. Ever fru g JI , even

with lus o w n series. Arget did not give the ser ies a new name but

in stea d rev ised all ex ist ing se r ies, th e Paris piuorcsque, the one

w hich had held the petits metiers lik e the larn pshade m an and rhe

(f(~ l n i h(' and whi ch had also held the scenes of cro w ds like th e

g ro u p w atching th e harpist a nd the pup pets in th e Luxembourg, a

series which had lain in ac tive (o r al m o st a decade The revis io n

W;l S dra sti c; with it ca rne th e fo cus on th e third c it y aud a di fferent

se nse of the placement of th e plane, The se r ies twi st ed away from

the old web o f practice , roraring chc plane like th e dial on a

padlock, At that point the web wa s t wisted away from its usual

rel ation to knowledg e and stre tched . The entire se r ies st rained to

co rn rn u n ica te th e modernity ofrhc th ird city, But before any com­

mun icati on cou ld be m ade , Arger bad to bring m odernity into th e

docu m en t so m ehow; increasingly he did so by settin g out

abse nce, seein g m odernit y as vacant hollow space ,

In the new phase of his project Ar ge t be ga n to d efi ne m odern­

ity by cutting into the sign s o f his d ocument, as if to trim rhern

dow n , and he exten d ed th e pr inc iple of cu tt ing to his sa m p le,

which he was to slice more :H1d more sha rply, The eigh teenth­

<x n tllr y lab/call de Paris WJS shortene d ; the ninctccnth-ccnrury

ehysio/(Jg it!5 were a dimming precedent; 3 p:Jnor Jl11 a was never COI1­

sid c rcd . 1 The e mptiness that w as now being hewn was almost \

prog ress ive. T he em pt iness was th e fo rm th at had to m ake th e

co n nectio n to knowled ge, th ou gh the m echanics of the connection \

3 O n th e t rad rrion of labl~dl l .If Paris, th e inventories o f the po p ula tion " (t'o r d lJl ~ to their o ccupations, sec Kar lheinz Stink, " Baud elaire an d the

T radl f lon o f the Tableau de Pari s , " Ne w Li/ ~ rclY Y HiS/MY II ( I<) Ro): J4 5- JOr. :::'t'(' also Waller Benjamin , C horles Baudclatrc: A Lyric P(l ~ 1 ill the Era '!fH igh C rl';/ilIL'l I' , t ran s. H ar r y Zoh u ( London: New Le ft B oo ks, 1973 ): Lou rs Chcval rc r, C IM;,,", laborieuscs et classes dancercuse«: aParis p" ,dllill la premiere """ii; dll XIXe ,'i<' rI,. (Pans: 1'1011 , 1 9 5 ~ ): T J C b rk , TIl<' PI/llllillg cfModen, LiJ<·' Par" ill tlie A rt ..( MmlCl illlri Hi" Followers (New York : K nope 1 <) ~ 4 );

Hobcn Herber t. 1,III'I"O ,< ;,'I1;SIll : A n , L rls ll rf , illl d r. n;5;d ll 5l!cit' ly (New H aven: Yak Uni vcrs it y Pros, J<)SIl),

3 10 i \)~/V- \ \ \(0 \~ " ,f were never sy stemat ized and that proble m would bo ther Argc r for the remainder of the series, T he technical link s w ith w hich he Was

familiar could no t be expected (0 control thi s space; there was l10

hy po th e tical panoprir st ruc tu re at rhc bottom of (his vo id. Instead a kind ofchaos and a prim ord ial air, Bur mod ern ity was no t sim ply a Cl!;lOS ; w hat was knowable went hand in hand w ith w hat W ;15

l li ar , ..ma n" wa]ked arm in arm with the impeus», B u t if mode rn ity 2\ W ;'lS known th rou gh the parisienne , wh at ha ppen ed to knowle dge

'}i' I ill her abscncc?Cou ld ano ther know ledge-figure be found ?T his IS

.l' f not a q uest ion to be answered q ui te yet , Ler us say so met hing else I

~ ":---" instead: the do cument W ;lS being moved back to its o rig ina l con.li .. ~ , '" cion of blankness , hack to the time when it W ;'IS prior to \ ~ kn ow led ge, ~, (t."-..: T his blankness W ,IS not j ust substituted for the paiis ienne- ivs

IlC' Jt G1Se o f repl acem ent or even of d isplacement here . It W:lS the

¥ product of ~ of re ject ion, Wh at k iud of weight did Argct cast off w hen he dislodged the parisienne, what ba llast? First and forem ost the m yth that saw mod ern ity as the lite led along the \ \ g rand boulevard, the line of w ide stree ts th at stretched from the Madeleine to the Bast ille (and afterwards often found itsel f d riv­ing th rough the Bois), T he g rand bo ulevar d W;l S famo us for its atr racrions: the n ight life, the banking, the ~\! "f1! ul magas ins, the o(fi c('s o f the p res ~ , the theater di strict , were all lo cated along irs axi s, ln 1908 UOIl Dcscavcs tried to ex plain its qua liry to the hypo­theticall y igno rant British reader:

III the eye s o f rh e provincial and till' torcigncr. .1 11 PHi siJ II life SCl' lIlS

to ce n ter there-In ir s shop wi ndows , thl' te rr aces O'- Il S ca f,'s , and the

doo rs o fl r~ 11"',II("l , ,11111<1 the rus h of vc luc lcs 3 11d the g Lue of tho se

illum ina ted signs wh ich , III the cvcmng and (rom :1 dI SI J II Cl" appear

like the CCkS l13 1 bill- posuu g fo resee n by Villicrs de l'[sie Adam In

Ulll' o f hi, G IIII,,' em,, /<'

iAnd, ,l frcr :.JI • .In' no t thl'sl' crowded , dus ty s lde- w,l lks th,' spot

w he re Spri ng cOIlles ea rl iest , as '( Par is cOIII' IlUniC.1led ils cxl"i t{'lllcn t

to til(' mo ulIl lIlg S.l p and Ihe bur stl llg buds ? D o 1I0t hU 5111" SS an i\'­

it ic,. great rqH lt ,H io l1 s, Jou rn aliSl11, goss lp, alil he "parks alld Rashes

o(t h<- life of a g reat Cit y, radial e fro m IIlIs fonls? So b,' it. T hae lill k I I I" " , u fb o llk v:1[(k ,u clll' d ill Ih, ' l1\iddk ,lIld cur Vin g al Ihe COrllCrS, i

f O rlll S , If yOIl like, rhl' lips o ( P~ r l s-dlOS (, (acile, tlrdess lips, whid,

l V IVl l Y 1"l \,, ':>U I ~

]1 t

never \w ary If too much l<ll kin g and o f lJug hing nt all thillgs, Alld

th e un iversal Inf.ll llJtlUII fo r rh is one (,'J tu re o f ,11] I m llll'Il S,' , IlIJ l] y_

sided CIty CJ I] no m or e be e xp lai ned than call I he kindred phenornr-,

11011 e xp resse d in Su llv I' ru dh olllllh:'S hues:

"Toi qu i faic Irs ~r :l nd"s am ours,

Pcutc ligne de ln bou chc!"«

T he myth had dev eloped o ut o f the bou levard h ype, the adverts that spo ke o f the (aerie of the dcpartrn cnr store and its wealth o f goods, the press th at goss iped op en ly "bo ut the latest theater and the ind iscretion s of the sta rs , the ente rtain me nts being offered to

the tourist , the citified pleas ures of gas ligh ts, elect ricity, and the ma g netism o f a crow d , T he I'll 1'; '\ 1(' /II 1l' , (o r lack of allY othe r so lid sym bolic structu re, was broug ht forwa rd as the figm e for th is entireculcure .>Her bod y becam e the trop e; its beauty and len ience spo ke for mor es i ll :I II spheres; it was the h uiuorisies' favorite marc­rial. Their fascination w ith her sex uality g rew obsessive i ll the decade j ust before t he First World Wa r.

Albert G u illaume nou s donne la Pa r isicune dernicr " bdreau . " j b

migllonne (ri ruoussc l:llIcrgO Jlt d 'uu fou illi-, de dcutcllcs; touj ou rs

flan qucc de fils .i papa .1UX " h u ir reflects" im pcccables , E lle se m b le

d 'au tant plus delicicusc qu "ils paLlisscnt grotesques. Toujours rian rc,

ouv ran t route g rande une adorable bouc hcc rc landis q u 'il s II 'OS(' IH

mCl1lc sourirc, figcs qu"ils 5011 1 {' II leur rrop hau t faux-col' Avec Fer­

d inaud UJC, ( ' CS I la monda iuc ultr a ,' k' ljan tc qui Iai r rout n ' qu' rl falll

afi n q uon 13 p n:nnc pour 1111,' , . . dir-o u Cllco re horizon talc? , , , ct

qu i nc I .I[J " p .I S da iilcu rs j le dcvcnir, Lc "Rirt" est ' J SClI Ic p rcor­

CUpJIIOIi , 't cc fl i r t , COl1l n lCII Cl' d .uis un salo n . fi lii! ell une garcou­

lIi,'r e, LJ Parisicnn c gill va ncz au vent, lcs )'e ux " ~ Ll perd ition de SO li

:' lIll'" CO Ill Il1 C d lsc rH lcs v i~ , lI e s bon l1cs k ll1 l1lcs, b lell e ll ch:llr forlc

, , , <:n bC,11KOl lp d e chos ,' s, ( l't fc l'afl,i clll1e- IJ , c'ot h VO Cfe' a m i Gcr­ballk 011 se ,,'[Ollrne lorsq ue 'c1k' passe e l 1'011 d lt "Flchtrel . . . ., Ll'

Uu u!cvar d ell r o ssi'd e Ie nl uJlo p0 k. ( \ '51 S,l lIIarqu c , Ic f':1 br lg lle ,"

oj. Leon Descavcs, "O f O pen Spaces," in Academic C OIiCOu tt, T he Cl /ol/' l~r {'til is (Londo ll: e h .1I10 & Wind lls , 11)08), pp , 5(,-). 7,

5 GII ,wve Kah il , Ln .re l/JI'J Il' Jm-'" In ra r ;ul/ I/ rc frOI'l(<1' 5(, (Pan s: Merlc:m(, 11)0 7), p, 5, 6 r. '.I l \( ' 1I PlIl'ch, t'.tlf' l/J/J / - X VI II (Paris: TaJlard ier, 19 0/ -11)0 2 ), prefa cl' .

"

J 12

Corporeal and ephemeral, the p<l l'isicHl1e set th e stage for l11 Jn y of the young Marcel Duc harnp's cartoons. O thers wou ld move their du racrers tilrou gh t he scenes that (ar m the ma in mater ial of the P(1 I';Spiuorcsque series, like sho pw indows and m arket sta nds (fi g­urcs 2 and J) . All of rhe m we re tra nslating I/ W l'!·/J'S into the bedroom farces o f the srand .i rd social types, w hat (he hum oristes themselves called the types CIl' YIIe1S.7 Many of th ese humoristes were At get 's cI icn ts.

,¥

T he abid ing concerns o f his illus trator clients appeared less and less in this ser ies as It progressed , tho ug h the document for artis ts rem ained the basic forma l un it. But the document paid less and less atte nt ion to the standa rd wo rk of ck:lf ing a stage for the ar rival of comi c typ es; the absences carved inca these documents we re less and less dict ated by the artists' needs. When he went and

~

dislodgccl th e 1l(1Y~11 ignored the bOlllcv;u:sL her favor­~ll n t , At~.e:fmiD g busi..!.!ess. So it wo uld go . He aban ­doned his"jTk:s trators and their frivolo us boulevard to the breach and cont inued on his course. St ill, Atger co uld not completely avo id this m ytholog y even as he rejecte d it . His new ser ies was alway s suffering fro m its exclusion ofboulcvard and parisienne; to

. ' C nati ve French viewe r, a man like Descaves, for exam ple, their .bsence wo uld be rem arkable and g la r i ng;~~:! sub­

.'}.9LJua l pressure in the ~ as vis ible as a foot print. Not for no thing have th ese pictures been com pared to scenes o f a crime. T he bourgeo isie was too powerful 1/(1/ to be felt , even here, in a ser ies full o f radi cal am bition. Bu t it was (cit as a cut. Arger was doi ng revolution ar y dr eam-work , d isplac ing the bourgeoisie and its obs essively gen ital idee.i Jixe,l and leavin g the wh ole lot to han g, outside his do cument, in their ow n thin air. In his series, sexuality wo uld not sum up (he mor es o f Paris. Mores wo uld be expressed ~t th rough bodies bur through the rede£!?l'll1 t'm o f 0-space in

the .p.bo to.£j:.1.phic do cumc'nt. But th is is an assert ion more (han a historical argument. T he

Loui s Morin , L" df'-'-;II lnonoriuiq,« (Paris. Laure ns , 19I J ), pp. 16, 16. S t'C also " La g alctl' de nos hll11l0ri stcs," in Lectures p,,,,,. lOllS ( 19 11), pp. 625-·6.lJ: C am ille 13 ,'lbll gu , L 'nrt rill pcintre , JC pilrlic (Par is: Ga r ruc r Frcres, 1911 ) , p. )0; E mi le Baya rd . L 'itlustrauon n lcs illnstratcurs (Paris: Delagrnvc, IS.):\), p. 1~ IT ; H ecto r M JcCkall . PJuw.1!raphy for ;\ 1"1 1.,'1)' (Lo ndon, 11'<)0), pp. 15- 16 .

...­

•.• 1

.1 Cardon a " Insin uat io n. " Le Rire, 110, 302 (janu ar y a, 1910).

J Fa biano " Pcc hes par actions. ' Lc Rire, no , JJ 7 (july 17, 190 9).

_

313

7

- - -

314

....., ... . .. ~ .. ~} -_ ...... ..... r~

t ime 1 1.1 ~ CO IlIC to make souicrhing more of the lorn III l.rti on , to

t u rn it to w ard the particul ar case.

A tg e t was him sel f no boulevardier. His W:l S th e ci ty of sm all

shops , ve ndo rs , r.igpick cr s, ca ba rcrs , and c ireu ses , :I pai r of boys

se lling roses at th e edge o f the c ity, .1 circus att rac tion in th e morn­

in g light ( fig u rc~ 4 and 5). They plotted an axi s through th e l11od­1/ c rn tha t for Ar gct replaced all the others . Argo t ~

upon th e clich es or th e maps that for orhe~Pari ~ . His Paris

~ 1110re thall a nl Jp ; th e ho llowness here w as not a copographieal­

fo rm; the t racks w ere not IllCJllt to coalesce. bea"-ln g a l?at!Ltu..a...

ze l tgs: ~r. Hi s axi s (o r th e modern st ruck out in another d ire cti o n .

~ T I;-is ax~'s , w h ic h filled in w ha t (or lack of J better term we. shal l

~,,, co n t in ue to ca ll th e third c ity, fell into lin e as th e exclu sion s became \~J . - _ .f.\ r! "J evide n t . The ex cl us io ns we re l11:lny and useful for m arkin g orrthe

limits of th e third city. o c-\

J ~ Atg et 's ncw se ries had littl e use for types , tropes, and n2.L0s,

even th ou gh th e y ha d been, so m e. o f t1'iciil,the s u bstance or h is old

ParisPiuorcsqlie. The new se r ies w as interested to feature the co nd i­

tion s of lo wer- class m odernity but a sing le figu re for class di d not

en te r to replace th e pavisien nc, Th e ne w Parispi uoresque tried to ta ke

the life o f th e lower cl ass in an other way, s ta rting [ ro m scracd1

~s and without th e su p por t o(;ll1yOther dict ionarylikc s tr uct u re . A tger did not w o rk with the k ind ofcou n tc rm yrhcl ogy o f the laborin g classes e la bo rared by Sreinlen 's pi ctures and Z ola 's J novels. As a g ~' n cr;ll rule Atgcr's new se ries took th e mo de st

{ ~ke the k iosk, th e circu s. or the g u bag e dump. He was, o pe rat ing in ce rta in neighborhoods more t han o thers, f:lVoring the

area a ro u nd th e cent ra l m arker , Lcs H allc s , the h is to ric work ing­._~

class neighborhood tha t moved a lo ng th e spi ne o f th e M ontagne -, Src. Cenc vicvc and th e ril e M ouffctard. th e <jllays o f th e Seine and

the C anal de I'Ourcq, and th e r one militoirc, a r ing of ragged forti­

fica rions th at lay J US t at th e c it y limits, their mihrar y [unct ion 4 Eugene Atget som ew ha t o f a form ality eve r s ince th e Ge rm an s had scaled them

Mnvchand Fir/Irs, 19 12 . in 1870 . Noneth eless t he place nam e did not re place the eypes : nci­

rhcr wa s ass u med ca pable ofd efinin g 1//0('111'.' . A tgcr 's se ries had to

find o the r w ays to co m m un icate . N o parisie nncs. N o cha rac te rs. N o plots. No N adja. Only

\ \ SP:lCCS o ff the boulevard , w alle d Ill , d os ed b y th e su rfaces o f a

w or k m g-class ci ty. Th e series p resented emptiness so th at ie

5

.,.... '''~ '' l'\

.1 17

wou ld become a ba rrjcad e to kn o wk~c. Ca pt io ns wer e minim al ~ / and no t rev ea ling. Emptin ess was it sel f che figu re o f m odernir y, (('

rhe figure fo r ign orance, a fig ure that did no t repro d u ce m ores bur

pr oduced th em . Suc h J sta te me nt d o cs not fo llow fro m itsel f. T he

se ries was dcsi !i! lC~bc seen by che m an in th e librJr y, rhe place ~ ~lhe..s o c lal pal)QCama was .fon s LlI [cdan~ed . Rerncrn- '

bc r W:lltcr Benj am in 's long d ays of w ork in th e B1bI io thc qllC'

Nat ion ale. Acgcc's new se r ies was d esi gned for th e print ro om of

the Biblior hcquc Nati onalc. )11 the file s o f th e print roo m mo ru rs

and modes, mores and fash io n we rt' classed as if th ey we re the sa me

rhi ng .

T he parisienne is imph cir in t he category of th e arch ive. A fig­

urc given to the pe rson in the library, the viewer A tge r knew

waited for th is wo rk. T hat viewer was almost always going to be J

bourgeois. But instead o f th e lad y, At ger gave the bourg eoi s th e

third cit y. lnstead o f th e com ple te ness, Atget gave th e viewer

ignorance. No go .

,--T h e m obilizat io n of e m ptinc ss litera lJ y reprodu ced the loca l

soc ial rel at ions: du e is [0 say, th e viewer 's lo o k w as socia lly con- ~

~ - ~ s t rurred b y the kind of emptin ess in the d o cument. Bu t in ad d i­

riou , th e document ena bled the city's space to inte rsect w ith theEu gen e Arget Fete de !ltJlli/i,-ard, ill/Clm c de 8 ,-c/(//I'I , Cirnue MllllfrL'IlI-19 IJ lib ra ry sp ace throu gh th e m ind and bo dy o f the beh old er. The

(15c 111'1). mobilizati on of e m pt iness in th e new se r ies grew in cr easingl y

ex t re me , It was never an a rbit rary empt iness . Cons ide r th e view s

o f bridges an d quay s_ T he b ridges and g llays were ph oto g raphed

in units th at o ver la p pe d and repeat ed : on t he w hole it is eno ugh to

say th at t he y worked the d ist an ce bet w een th e Pon t d es Invalides

and the Pont Sully, with a lat e in te res t in La Villette . T he Seine,

even in the ce n te r of Pans , was very mu ch a work ing ri ver. A rgc t

co ncen t rated 0 11 th e evi dence o f work in th e s pace. FIe eve n

--o; c1 ud ed th e w o rk ing painter , th e kind th at put che o ld brid ge into

J Vicux Paris-st yl e pi ctu resque v iew, and Ar gcl 's fi rs t b r idge pi c­

tures showed s uc h a pa in ter, dwa rfe d always by t he su rrou nds, for

instance, a lar g e d ark tree rhar flo at ed like a caption or a cloud (fig­

li re 6). The qll ay~ were not meant fo r th e pr omenad es o f gen teel

fo lk : th e river quay s w ere not to b e con fused wi th t he q uay-s t reets

that rail pa ra llel to th em ; g ui debooks ex plai ne d due th e quays

below were benea th no t ice an d tha t th e q U,lyS above kept o ne at the ap p ro p r iate sp ir itua l di st an ce : "Le qu ai esr rro p ha ur c t la rivierc

J I 9

6 Eugene Atget Ter re plri,1du PO'1f {\ICU(--J91J (If arr].

-:~t tr ap loin. Entre die ct lc passant a U C U l l C f~llli1Jarit c . "H Dow n

by th e ri ver WJ~ another world where bar ges purposefull y g lide d

111 [0 unload and to lo ad . On the QU Ji de la Tau rncl Ic Arg ct fou nd

.\ em and J parkin g sign (or the barges (figure 7). The Quai d e la

To u rnd k was not unu su al in this regard ; all a lo n g the Seine goo d s

C l in e.: into town ; each port had its spec ialt ies: at the Quai de la Tourllclk they w er e sand , stone's , pla ster, ch alk, wood , and

~ ug ;lrs . '.J The document worked with th ese details, but not in J

methodi cal way. At th e Pont Marie. Argct sp u n the brid ge acr oss

his pho ro g raph , an chorin g It in the corn e rs with the heads of three

passersb y peerin g over to watch at th e upper left and at the lower

righ t w ith the painted white buttress featuring the measuring stic k by which th e level o f rhe Seine co u ld be ex actly known (fi g­lire 8)- im po rt aIH informacion, (or the Seine had overflowed irs

ba n ks during the w inter of 1(j1O in a famou s Paris Hood. In th e di s­

tan ce of th at sallie view o f th e Pont Marie w er e bateaux laooirsand

haius, public washhouses and baths. A sample W:lS being circum­

srr ibcd in these pictures, all ofthem 191 l anes. By 1913, th e pr oj ect

'vV:1S sl.m tcd to wa rd th e hard labor on th e quays. At th e Parr d es

IIIvalid cs Atget rook the new. overdecorated Pont A lcxandrc III sho wered in light; belo w th e workers sto p pe d loadin g ro ck fo r a

moment to pose (figure I)). They were th e po ses o f laboring men J I

labo r, the pause between lo ads that were going off to build a bette

Pari s like the brid g e sh im m erin g above . Atget pointed [0 <\

moment in rhe process of build ing th e c ity and Indeed buildin g til e

Im ag e o f the city, a moment which WJ S ana logo us to rhe m oment

at w h ich the document made its conniburion to the production

pr o ces s. .I moment where the labor wa s ephe m eral, not in scribed

I II th e product as an ything more chan a fetish or a w ag e rel ati on .

Argcr took h is picture before labor wa s full y transformed , before

cllL' ga iet y of Paris congea led into spec tac le . a m omen t w he n th e th ird cicy showed raw

A mon g his last pictu res was a floati II g bar at th e Pore d es

C ha rn ps- E lvsccs, one in a se r ies of short bo ars plastered wi th sIgns

(o r ape r it ifs , chocolate , and life insurance , down below till' Pont

Alexandre Ill on rhc och er sid e ot che r ive r, d own next to the d ock s

8 G~ b rJ d 1-I.II'OI JU ;>; . La S rin« ct In quais (p~ ri ~ ; l):lr Jgon. lyOI ), P: 2 1.

9 Gust ave P:l\\] o\\ ,\.;i. L ('.< 1'00 r.1 d(' Pm is (PHIS : Bcrgvr-Lcvraulr, 19 10). p, 4 1 .

9 Eugene Argct Port des III Vll li dl'5-19IJ (7(' arr].

7 Eugen e Arget Uu coin du quai de la roum ellc-1911 (s« an).

.. LO E uge ne Atge t8 E uge ne Atgel

Port de_' Cllalnp.,.Ely ,i f'-19'J (S,. orr}. Qua i d 'nujou , P OIII M f/r;e-1911 (4(' an). •

7 !

,. p :l

w here th e ar m o f th e big crane co uld still be seen alongside :l

m ountain (fig ure 10). Th ese we re the bars for th e people who worked on th e wate rfron t. N o th ing more than the boat s w as sho wn however ; se pa rated off from th e laborer now and th e rituals o f cus to m , th ey alone had to g ive moeurs; th e things of th is world we re to spea k in th e absence o f any other voice. Dubonncc, B yrrh, B ic rc du Lion . T he br and nam es were not saying much ; the works

J wer e as thick as th e su rfaces. The surfaces, like th e silences, were

s im Qlv.J:he boundaries of th e ei11I~5l'if[Fi cy I1:id bee n given criti cal duty. T he y hag circ u lllsc ribed"""7 nonbourgc oi s lo w mod­

e rni ty, what ( an llow be ide u rific d, though nebulousl y, as the pop­,. ulairc. For Argcc, th e third city was a means to rhe populairc.

The populaire was ex tre mely problemati c as a part o f modern­ity. Know led ge o f it did nor ever co me easily ; mo st! y It existed as a lun ar impense. Wh at thi s meant (or the document is better see n,

because liter ally see n, in th e view across the bar ges taken at th e grea t do ck of 13 Villette (figure I r), For Paris had some fo rty- two

kil ometer s o f waterway of th e Seine and fourteen more o f cana ls ; all in all th ey handl ed th ir teen million tons of goods in 1909. La Villette b y at th e north on th e ca nals, where th ey w ide ned into ;1

bi g basin , w he re th e exc ha nge o f goods was monumental. O ne

wricer w ho saw it ill 191 0 tri ed co su mmarize them objeccivel y:

Le t rafflc concc rnc su rtout lcs hou ille s du Nord . picrres de Valois,

dcn rccs co lonialcs du H av re, produ rrs indus tr ic ls des A rden nes.

g ra ins de Picardie, pour lcs arrivagcs: pour lcs exp editi ons, articles

de Pari s, prcduits manufactures. Sur les quais achalandcs on aperco it

de -c i dc - la: "arti cles de mcnJgt', voitures d'cnfants , m.ichi ness cou­

dre . machi ne-s agr ico lcs. vcrrc ric. conserves, chiffons , pnpicr s , bam­

bo us er ro t ins d ' Exr rcmc- Orien t, fib res. feu illcs de palnue rs, c ires,

colle. pe trolcs. avo mcs, [a rrncs, sucres. calix rmnc ralcs . (rllil s des

p~y s cha uds . ph os ph at es , s.u u nons de Illl'l "l s. 1(-~ 1I " 1l' " (n lll~ sees ,

p~ t es , liqucr s, rn icl , e tc ." Ncu f hall g ar s-insu ffisJn lS- on t etc l' l de s

barnqucmcn rs. 1<>

O ra nges, W :l X, sew ing m achines, and fancy dr ess goo ds co u ld fasten onto sa ilo r roman ce and exotic f<lIltJsy and turn pictu resque

10 Ibid . p, ~<)

II

19 14 ­192 .\ ,

I2 Eugene Atget Bellevitle, Emplacemeut du massacres des O/a~c5 85 rIIt' Haxo (zoe], 1901.

]24

w ry c;\.,il y. And Atgcr, Of course, took a defensive rack over the cop or a barge whose goods were either gom: or still un tou ched . ~ The top was chc thi ckest of sur faces, w ith its ropes and poles and m ysterious holds, only for the experienced sailor; in the distance. leanin g on the rail of a second barge there- were two sailors, no more than shadowy figures, who offered no help in crossing . Th eir dist ance was nor the far distance, how cv l.,' r~lK f:'1 rthest dis­~'lnce :Y~ :l rol(" gi ven to Paris, r<:.d~cecfto_a g ro~p ofs mall, I.~n i g­

~t i c buildingsdisappearing ';;'Ito_the mist. PJ rii l1;\s J;"ctreatecl , T hough it w!!:U)tgst w ho had retired it from active s c rv~ ~ in t§.. dO ~~' !.H, ju st as he had seen to it that the sailors stood :I t the far j ' ~~ ..!~i ng~s~d were pri ma r il y tr a.~.:.s; the photograph alluded to knowledge that it would sca rcely show. It took the visi­ble tip, a detail or a surface , and found other WJys co indicare wh at W;JS not there, what had been re legated to the dist ance, wh en not altogether cut . Th at was the thrust of the crnptiness in the third cit y. Th e do cument communicated the ex istence Qf a .fil)owkd g~ in 5!2sp..J!P1l/aire, but only the existence. T he populaire rem ained vaporous and enig matic. Th e barge cop did not , (or exam ple. por­tr ay a recogni zed battleground of class st rugg le, like the Mur des Federes in Pere Lachaise (figure 12). the place where the Co mrnu­nards were exec uted en masse, a place w ith a commemo rative plaque , a place show n by Arger as a brute and now bloodl ess wall on a cheerless w inter d;ly, an official Vieux Paris im age for an offi­cial histor y. ::rhe barRe tops wo uld not b~. wr itten into hi s tor~ easily; thel laL2!-ltsidU U w.cLib •.procedures. hold ing in their .b~c ;)tE ' o f.~ l1 l'o ir, holdin g the populaire to the i/~;' l s e . Th e impens» migh[ possibl y be postulated as J sauoir 0La J OW .~l~> but in any case it was not x sauoir wi rh discipl incs like history. science, and the arcs, nor did it require documents. As a result it seemed form­less. Perh aps it was. But it W:lS pare ofa di alectic in the file. Wh erc, one migh t :-1 5k, is la mode?

Th e histori cal arg ument brin gs WIth it pomrcd conclu sions. Alger's dem on str at ions with the do cument 's em ptiness left ign o­rance o f the working-class place of rhe subjc cc-ca tt'go ry, M OD ERN

LI f E. The void of ignorance W:l S , however, jefe by the poris ienne. Even if Atget had tried, it would have been d Ifficult to fill her

\ : void . She was the necessar y fig~ lrc for th i n ki n g~~Y,-no alter­native could ex ist wi tho ut recourse to her and her class. And so the

PS

rhud city ex ists as unfill ed , but it is marked by a specifically fema le absence, T his third city is nor-fem ale. Know ledge was denied. But SHE had to be denied in the process. And yet because or rhc very dialectic in the file, the den ial of tile parisicntu:could never be com plete.