Edition 2018

William Wegman

BEING HUMAN

William Wegman is a renowned, versatile American artist who resists an easy classification, as he moves adroitly between painting, drawing, photography, video. Although his famed Weimaraners are not featured in all these media, they reside at the core of his art. In the late 1970s Wegman found in the large-format Polaroid print his ideal means of expression—the perfect print size, exquisite colour, and an ‘instantaneity’ which allowed for spontaneity and beneficial ‘accidents’. Wegman’s world may revolve around his dogs, and yet, is it all really about dogs? Being Human suggests otherwise: these performers are us; we are them: housewife, astronaut, lawyer, priest, farm worker, even a… dog walker! Some pose proudly and with confidence, others express doubts or vulnerabilities: it’s all about being human.

Exhibition curator: William A. Ewing.
Exhibition produced by The Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis, in collaboration with the Rencontres d'Arles.
With support from Sperone Westwater Gallery.
Publication : Être humain, Éditions Textuel, 2017 (French edition) ; Being Human, Thames & Hudson, 2017 (English Edition).

See the extension of the Being Human exhibition by William Wegman at the Avignon TGV station, with support from SNCF Gares & Connexions.

"3D immersive tour" by Notoryou.

  • Institutional partners

    • République Française
    • Région Provence Alpes Côté d'Azur
    • Département des Bouches du Rhône
    • Arles
    • Le Centre des monuments nationaux est heureux de soutenir les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles en accueillant des expositions dans l’abbaye de Montmajour
  • Main partners

    • Fondation LUMA
    • BMW
    • SNCF
    • Kering
  • Media partners

    • Arte
    • Lci
    • Konbini
    • Le Point
    • Madame Figaro
    • France Culture