It seems obvious today that the invention of
photography was directly linked to the advent of what is called “modernity” in
the 19th century. What is modern about photography, on the other
hand, appears to be less obvious. While it answered to the needs of a modern
society characterized by "urbanization and [...] expansionism, of which it is the product and instrument", it seemed at the same time to be opposed to an
"elitist and aristocratic conception” of painting, whether modern or not.
According to André Rouillé, there is an essential antagonism between photographic
modernity and modern art. And yet, while photography has always laid claim to
the status of an art form, it was not until the early 20th century
that photographers began to assume a share of the responsibility for the grand project
of modern art. Modern art, modern life and modern perceptions are the three main
concerns of these reflections on the century of photographic modernity from the
mid-19th to the mid-20th century.
Editor: Alexander Streitberger
Essays by Alexander Streitberger, Marc-Emmanuel
Mélon, Stephanie Diekmann, Carl Havelange, Michel Poivert, Danielle Leenaerts,
Nathalie Boulouch, Hilde van Gelder and Victor Burgin
Art intervention by Victor Burgin
Published in 2009
In French and English
21 x 27 cm
122 pages
ISBN: 978-2-9600632-3-3
EAN: 9782960063233
