The French weekly illustrated magazine VU was one of the pioneering leaders of the still-current media revolution during its reign from 1928-1940. Following the mandate “the text explains, the photograph proves,” it brought a super-modern view of the world to its readers with inventive photography, photo-essays, photo-montages, and high-impact graphic design. It served as a creative outlet for photographers such as Kertész, Man Ray, Krull, Lotar, and Brassaï.

Created by Lucien Vogel, a man of vision who knew how to stir things up, the magazine published nearly 700 issues, including some extra-sensational political features (Look at the Soviets, 1931; The German Enigma, 1932; Interrogation of China, 1934). The current exposition at the MEP in Paris displays more than 600 original covers and page-spreads. It shows how alive magazines and photography and design were in those times — and how little we have progressed since then in terms of media presentation and content.