Chandigarh: Portrait of a City
Chandigarh was one of the early planned cities in the post-independence India and is internationally known for its architecture and urban design. The master plan for the city was prepared by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who transformed it from earlier plans created by the Polish architect Maciej Nowicki and the American planner Albert Mayer. With the whole design and construction of the city being true to Le Corbusier’s radical modernist vision, Chandigarh is regarded as one of the most progressive cities of the world in terms of architecture, cultural growth and modernisation.
In Chadigarh: Portrait of a City, French photographer Manuel Bougot explores how Le Corbusier’s philosophy and approach was realised in this unique city which has come to represent Modern India.
Artist Profile(s)
Manuel Bougot
Born in Paris in 1959, Manuel Bougot lived as a child in the poor neighbourhoods of the North of Paris. When he was fifteen, his family moved in one of the new housing development tower blocks called ''Les Orgues de Flandres'' built by the architect Martin Van Treek. Living in this modern and original building triggered a passion for architecture. At the same period of time, Manuel Bougot started to study photography at his high school photoclub and later, at Horace Greeley High School NY. In 1977, at the age of eighteen, during a long stay in New York, he decided to dedicate his life to the art of photography. He then entered the famous French school of photography ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière''. Thanks to several meetings, he experienced cinema, theatre and fashion shootings. In 1988, Manuel opened his own studio in Paris. From then on, he has worked for advertising agencies and carried on his own personal work like "Le Corbusier in India", the ''Late Fall series" or the ''Domestic Portraits'' exhibit in Europe and India. Manuel Bougot has also been working for press, publishing and travel agencies specialized in historical and vintage Architecture.