rank Bohbot travelled to San Francisco to photograph the famous Castro Theatre. It was built in 1922 by Timothy L. Pflueger, an architect renowned for his many constructions in San Francisco Bay. Entirely decorated in a baroque Spanish colonial style, it has been a listed historical monument of the city since 1976. The photographer showcases the luxurious design of its interior by installing his lens at the highest point of the auditorium, opposite the stage. Its imposing ceiling, decorated with concave and convex spirals, dominates the space, featuring frescoes of Ancient Greek and Roman inspiration. The composition is arranged according to a central perspective that directs the spectator’s gaze towards the front of the stage where the famous “Mighty Wurlitzer” is located, an organ that is becoming rare nowadays, capable of imitating a full orchestra, which served to accompany the first silent movies.

**The artist: Franck Bohbot**

Born in 1980 in the Parisian region, Franck Bohbot lives and works in New York. He began his career as a set photographer, producing a number of photographic series dedicated to urban architecture, from 2008 onwards. His subjects include theatres, libraries, fair grounds, and swimming pools. While Bernd and Hilla Becher dedicate their works to the frontal photography of industrial installations, the French photographer develops a protocol with the same precision that allows him to draw up an inventory of Parisian public, cultural, or sporting sites, devoid of any human presence. The artist adopts a frontal point of view each time, highlighting an almost perfect symmetry. The photographer's outsider's eye thus lends the sites a new dimension: one that is more monumental and stylised. These places are transformed into unique and captivating spaces, both in terms of their historical and sociological aspects, as well as aesthetic concerns. This ability to observe architecture in an original manner has earned him some major commissions by prestigious institutions such as the Louvre.