DEPARDON, Raymond (Villefranche-sur-Saone, 1942)Raymond Depardon. Villes Cities Stadte

Following a commission from the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Raymond Depardon made a series of films—seven in 2004 and five in 2006—in Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Buenos Aires, New York, Johannesburg, Dubai, and Paris. Manned with a vertical camera, an Aaton movie camera, and ten boxes of Kodak A-Minima 5-minute film, Raymond Depardon gave himself three days for each city. The catalog published for the exhibition at the Berlin Museüm für Fotografie in 2006 is a compilation of the photographs that the artist took during his brief stay in these cities. Seen with the eye of a traveler, they present his pronounced fondness for snapping the moment, when all the world is a stage.