Huiskapel van Mlle Lavalière, Rue Nicole, Parijs 1890 - 1927

Eugène Atget made this photograph of a house chapel on Rue Nicole in Paris with a camera and photographic plate of some kind, probably around the turn of the last century. I love Atget, he had a very still eye. The old doorway is flanked by trees and bushes that are slightly out of control, while the building itself looks quite formal. I wonder, did he set up his camera and wait for a breeze to ruffle the leaves and soften the scene? I can imagine him wanting to balance the rigid architecture with something ephemeral and alive. It reminds me of my own process, layering and scraping, trying to capture the things you can't quite name. That doorway almost disappears amidst the chaotic foliage, history covered up and obscured, nature always finding its way in. You have to look for the art.