The Radiant Fortnight 9

 After the success ofHara Kiri Photo presented as part of Rencontres d'Arles in 2016, Marc Bruckert and Thomas Mailaender, curators of the exhibition, delve into the archives of the collection of Michel Lépinay, Hara-Kiri's first photographer (1961-1966).
Silver prints, contact sheets and kiosk posters show us the other side of the coin of a "cultural exception" in the stuffy world of the French press at the time. Insolence, provocation, graphic violence... from the Blaireau mill to the village café, the Hara Kiri spirit will be blowing through our countryside.

A professional photographer based in the ninth arrondissement of Paris, MICHEL LÉPINAY began working for HARA KIRI in 1961. A year later, he immortalised Georges Bernier's transformation into Professeur Choron (Hara-Kiri Service, Professeur Choron: Réponse à tout), the monthly magazine's offices being located next door to his studio, at 4 rue Choron. Michel Lépinay photographed a number of fake advertisements and photo-novels, based on scenarios and designs by Gébé (assisted by Jean-Jacques Cartry for the layout and sets), including The Queen of France against the French Republicfeaturing dancers Vélérie Camille and Christine Reynolds and the HARA KIRI team (Cavanna, Gébé, Fred, Wolinski, Reiser, Cabu, Melvin Van Peebles and, of course, Professor Choron). At the end of 1963, the covers of HARA KIRI switched to photography: in bloody red and charcoal black, the result was violent and expressionist. HARA KIRI, a "dangerous publication for young people", had found its own style: silly and nasty. Michel Lépinay left HARA KIRI in 1966, the year the paper was banned for a second time (for six months).