Christophe Agou

Agou was born in Montbrison, France in 1969. A self-taught photographer, Agou grew up in a small town in the Forez region, on the eastern side of the Massif Central.[http://www.clermont-ferrand.fr/Face-au-silence.html Exhibition notice] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130412172021/http://www.clermont-ferrand.fr/Face-au-silence.html |date=2013-04-12 }}, Clermont-Ferrand city website.

From the early 1990s, Agou made documentary-style photographs in both black and white and color which take an allusive approach to the human condition. He also made short films and sculpture. In 1992, he moved to New York City. He began taking photographs in the streets that evoked a sense of longing and isolation. He made photographs at Ground Zero on September 11th, 2001, which were used in numerous publications. He first came to prominence with photographs taken in the New York City Subway, published in his book Life Below (2004).

In 2002 Agou returned to Forez. He traveled to the lesser-known parts of the region and got to know a community of family farmers whose identities are deeply rooted to the land. He photographed and filmed them at work and at home for eight years. This resulted in Face au Silence / In the Face of Silence, a documentary about rural life in early twenty-first century France. The work won him the 2010 European Publishers Award for Photography,{{cite web | url = http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/in-the-face-of-silence/ | date = April 2011 | access-date = 18 September 2015 | publisher = Aesthetica | title = In the Face of Silence}} and publication in six editions and in six languages.{{cite web | url = http://www.in-public.com/news/2010/9/publishersaward | date = 8 September 2010 | access-date = 20 September 2015 | publisher = In-Public | title = Christophe Agou wins European Publishers Award | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091742/http://www.in-public.com/news/2010/9/publishersaward | archivedate = 4 March 2016 }}

He became a member of the In-Public street photography collective in 2005.{{cite web | url = http://www.in-public.com/ChristopheAgou | accessdate = 11 February 2015 | publisher = In-Public | title = Christophe Agou | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://archive.today/20150212142003/http://www.in-public.com/ChristopheAgou | archivedate = 12 February 2015 }}

Agou died in September 2015 of cancer.{{cite web | last = Bram | first = Richard | url = http://www.in-public.com/news/2015/9/Christophe_Agou,_1969-2015 | date = 18 September 2015 | access-date = 18 September 2015 | publisher = In-Public | title = Christophe Agou, 1969–2015 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150920204900/http://www.in-public.com/news/2015/9/Christophe_Agou%2C_1969-2015 | archivedate = 20 September 2015 }}

• Life Below: The New York City Subway. New York: Quantuck Lane Press, 2004. {{ISBN|1-59372-008-4}}.
• Face au Silence. Text by John Berger.
• Face au Silence. Arles: Actes Sud, 2010. {{ISBN|2-7427-9542-1}}.
• In the Face of Silence. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2011. {{ISBN|1-907893-04-0}}.
• Aπέναντι Στη Σιωπή. Apeiron Photos, 2011. {{ISBN|960-94490-2-6}}.
• Ante el Silencio. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, 2011. {{ISBN|978-84-9785-718-5}}.
• Gesichter der Stille. Berlin: Edition Braus, 2011. {{ISBN|3-86228-003-9}}.
• Di Fronte al Silenzio. Rome: Peliti Associati, 2011. {{ISBN|88-89412-47-X}}.
• Les Faits Secondaires. Christophe Agou, 2013. {{ISBN|978-1-4675-7085-5}}. Texts by Agou and John Berger. Poems by {{Illm|Daniel De Bruycker|qid=Q3013912}}. Edition of 700 copies.

• 10 – 10 Years of In-Public. London: Nick Turpin Publishing, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-9563322-1-9}}. Includes an essay by Jonathan Glancey, "Outlandish Harmony"; a foreword by Nick Turpin; and a chapter each by Agou, Nick Turpin, David Gibson, Richard Bram, Matt Stuart, Andy Morley-Hall, Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, Jesse Marlow, Adrian Fisk, Nils Jorgensen, Melanie Einzig, Jeffrey Ladd, Amani Willett, Gus Powell, Otto Snoek, Blake Andrews, David Solomons, George Kelly and Paul Russell.
• Photographers' Sketchbooks. London: Thames & Hudson, 2014. {{ISBN|9780500544341}}. Edited by Stephen McLaren and Bryan Formhals.
• 100 Great Street Photographs. Munich, London, New York: Prestel, 2017. By David Gibson. {{ISBN|978-3791383132}}. Contains a commentary on and a photograph by Agou.

• Face au Silence = In the Face of Silence (2011){{efn|The 12-minute film can be seen [https://vimeo.com/53602081 here at Vimeo].}}

• In-Sight (2011) – 38-minute documentary directed and edited by Nick Turpin, commissioned by Format for the Format International Photography Festival, Derby, 2011. Includes interviews with Agou, Richard Bram, Melanie Einzig, David Gibson, Jesse Marlow, Gus Powell, Otto Snoek, David Solomons, and Nick Turpin, and shows them at work.{{efn|There is a trailer for the film; access to the full film can be bought {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131208034514/https://distrify.com/films/539 here at Distrify]}}.}}

• Face au silence, Rencontres d'Arles Festival, Arles, France. November 2011 – January 2012.Bénédicte Philippe, "[http://sortir.telerama.fr/evenements/expos/christophe-agou-face-au-silence,72865.php Christophe Agou: Face au silence]", Télérama.
• Face au silence, Fait & Cause Galerie, Paris, France. November 2011 – January 2012.Victoria Scoffier, "[http://www.6mois.fr/Face-au-silence-le-temps-d-un?lang=fr Face au silence, le temps d'un livre]", 6 mois, 21 October 2011.
• Face au silence, {{Illm|Musée d'art Roger Quilliot|qid=Q1495869}} (MARQ), Clermont-Ferrand, France. 26 January – 29 April 2012.[https://www.clermont-ferrand.fr/IMG/pdf/dp_agou.pdf Press release for Face au Silence]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (PDF, 27 pp, 432 kB), Clermont-Ferrand city website.
• Face au silence, Galerie Intervalle, Paris, France. September–October 2014.[http://www.offi.fr/expositions-musees/galerie-intervalle-5936/face-au-silence-christophe-agou-737677.html Exhibition notice], L'Officiel des spectacles."[http://www.picto.fr/2014/christophe-agou-expose-a-paris/ Christophe Agou exposé à Paris]", Picto.

• in-public @ 10, Photofusion, Brixton, London, May–July 2010.{{cite news | url = http://www.photofusion.org/exhibitions/in-public10/ | accessdate = 11 February 2015 | newspaper = Photofusion | title = In-Public@10}} Travelled to Les Ballades Photographiques de Seyssel, Seyssel, France, 12–23 July 2011, where it also included the film In-Sight (2011) and The French exhibition by Nick Turpin.{{cite web | url = http://www.competencephoto.com/agenda/74-Seyssel-Balades-photographiques-de-Seyssel_ae131177.html | accessdate = 11 February 2015 | publisher = :fr:Compétence photo| title = 74 - Seyssel • Balades photographiques de Seyssel}}{{cite news | url = http://www.latribunerepublicaine.fr/Actualite/Sortir/article_1430433.shtml | date = 7 July 2011 | accessdate = 11 February 2015 | publisher = :fr:La Tribune républicaine de Bellegarde | title = Les balades photographiques de Seyssel, du 12 au 23 juillet | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160205021329/http://www.latribunerepublicaine.fr/Actualite/Sortir/article_1430433.shtml | archive-date = 5 February 2016 | url-status = dead }} Included photographs by In-Public members.
• Street Photography Now, Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, October–November 2010. Photographs from the book Street Photography Now (2011)."[http://www.in-public.com/news/2010/10/3rdfloor Street photography now at the Third Floor Gallery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401214101/http://www.in-public.com/news/2010/10/3rdfloor |date=2016-04-01 }}", In-Public, 5 October 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
• 2015: The Sharp Eye. In-Public in Mexico, Foto Mexico, Cine Tonalá, Mexico City, Mexico, October–November 2015. Slideshow of photographs.{{cite web | url = http://centrodelaimagen.cultura.gob.mx/fotomexico/en/exhibitions/image-comunity/in-public.html | accessdate = 10 June 2016 | publisher = Centro de la Imagen | title = The Sharp Eye. iN-PUBLIC in Mexico: Group Show}}

• 1999: Attention Talent Photo Award Fnac{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}
• 2000: Project Competition, Santa Fe Prize for Photography{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}
• 2002: Honorable Mention, Magazine Picture of the Year{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}
• 2002: AI-AP (American Illustration - American Photography), American Photography Award{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}
• 2006: Finalist, W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography
• 2008: Finalist, Prix de la Photographie de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris
• 2009: Special Mention, Prix Kodak de la Critique Photographique
• 2010: Winner, European Publishers Award for Photography{{cite web | url = http://www.europhotobookaward.eu/previous-winners | access-date = 19 September 2015 | publisher = European Publishers Award for Photography | title = Previous Winners | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150215142755/http://www.europhotobookaward.eu/previous-winners | archivedate = 15 February 2015 }}"[http://artsinitiative.columbia.edu/events/john-berger-understanding-photograph-panel-geoff-dyer-christophe-agou-wendy-lesser-and John Berger: Understanding a Photograph: A panel with Geoff Dyer, Christophe Agou, Wendy Lesser, and Lawrence Weschler]", Arts Initiative, Columbia University, 2013. Accessed 8 May 2014.[http://www.actes-sud.fr/sites/default/files/9782742795420_argu.pdf Press release] (PDF), Actes Sud.
• 2012: CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée). Commission for Sans Adieu."[http://www.cnc.fr/web/fr/17-fevrier-2012 Documentaire: Fonds d'aide à l'innovation audiovisuelle (aide à l'écriture): Résultats de la commission du 17 février 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310184650/http://www.cnc.fr/web/fr/17-fevrier-2012 |date=2016-03-10 }}, CNC.
• 2013: CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée){{Vague|date=September 2015}}{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

Agou's work is held in the following public collections:

• La Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris"[http://www.galerie-intervalle.com/artiste/christophe-agou Christophe Agou] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130054311/http://www.galerie-intervalle.com/artiste/christophe-agou |date=2016-01-30 }}", Galerie Intervalle.
• {{Illm|Musée d'art Roger Quilliot|qid=Q1495869}} (MARQ), Clermont-Ferrand, France
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
• Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
• The Akron Art Museum Akron, OH
• Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona, FL
• New York Public Library, New York
• Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}
• New-York Historical Society, New York
• Fonds national d'art contemporain (FNAC), Paris
• The Joy of Giving Something, New York, NY

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• {{Official website|www.christopheagou.com}}

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Category:French street photographers

Category:1969 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:Documentary photographers

Category:People from Montbrison, Loire

Category:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)