ESSA Paris: Agnès Varda

Agnès Varda was a revolutionary and well-respected photographer and film director. She specialized in feminist films and directed such titles as her debut film La Pointe Courte (1955), Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985), Kung Fu Master (1988), and many more. She was born on the 30th of May in the year 1928 in Brussels, Belgium, and worked for much of her life in Paris. We visited her workshop on Rue Daguerre where she worked on series such as Daguerréotypes (1975) and where a mural was painted in her memory. She died fairly recently on the 29th of March in the year 2019 at the age of 90 and was interred in Paris, France.

In her photography career, Agnès Varda was a prominent member of the Left Bank Cinema and the French New Wave movements. She began with simple commissions--weddings, friend's photoshoots, etc.--but eventually progressed into more advanced applications of her skills. Her work as a photographer was influential in its own right, but it was also important because it heavily influenced her filmmaking career. When she released her first movie, La Pointe Courte (1955), she had only her experience as a photographer to reference. Nonetheless, she made strides in the world of filmmaking, such as employing location shooting instead of studio shooting, that left a deep impression on the world of film forever. Director Martin Scorsese described Varda as "one of the Gods of Cinema" (Telluride Martin Scorsese Calls Agnes Varda one of the Gods". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 August 2019.)

When it comes to how Agnès Varda has been commemorated, I would say in some ways she has been commemorated well and in other ways, she has not. Firstly, some would argue that it's a tragedy that the street her Parisian workshop is located on has not been named after her. However, in life she expressed a great love for living on the street named after one of the fathers of photography, and even made a play on words naming her film series Daguerréotypes. Though the dead have moved on, I think an important part of adequately commemorating someone is honoring their wishes and in this case, perhaps her wishes were. Another important part of commemorating someone well is keeping their legacy in the minds of future generations. Statues, paintings, street names, and other public honors remind a population of a person and their contributions to their community, and in this way, Agnès Varda was perhaps underwhelmingly commemorated. A mural of her and characters from her works does so, but her grave is somewhat discreetly tucked away in Montparnasse cemetery and her name isn't worn by any other public works. I worry that her legacy will not be perpetuated adequately due to these shortcomings.