Questions de méthode

Conservateur responsable de l'Atelier de restauration et de conservation de la Ville de Paris (ARCP), Anne Cartier-Bresson a été chargée du commissariat d'une exposition itinérante de longue durée, intitulée "Paris sous l'objectif (1885-1994) ", susceptible d'être présentée pendant environ cinq ans dans différents pays à partir d'avril 1998, afin de produire un état des lieux des principales collections photographiques de la municipalité parisienne: Bibliothèque historique de la Ville..

Photographs from the Dain, Cofield, and Cartier-Bresson Collections of the University Museums and the University Archives

Reception for exhibition

La photographie contemporaine sous le regard de la conservation et de la restauration : le cas du « Plan couleur et impressions numériques » de la Ville de Paris

Bien qu’à l’origine de toute photographie, analogique ou numérique, il y ait l’empreinte de la lumière sur un support sensible, la « révolution numérique » a changé la manière d’appréhender ce médium.Dans ce contexte, l’Atelier de restauration et de conservation des photographies de la Ville de Paris (ARCP) a lancé, en 2006, un plan de conservation portant sur les photographies en couleurs photochimiques et les impressions numériques conservées dans les institutions municipales.Les différentes techniques recensées sont celles qui constituent majoritairement la production contemporaine, des tirages à développement chromogène aux impressions jet d’encre, en passant par les tirages argento-numériques.Mais au-delà de l’identification des procédés photographiques, cruciale pour la conservation des fonds, les problématiques de montage et de présentation spécifiques de la photographie contemporaine sont apparues tout aussi importantes.Ces dernières décennies, des avancées en matière de restauration et de montage ont été réalisées, en adaptant les pratiques aux nouveaux matériaux. Dans certains cas cependant, les collections ont encore recours au retirage des œuvres endommagées. Cette solution ne constitue pas une alternative définitive, notamment face à l’obsolescence des supports.Finalement, le numérique n’a pas fondamentalement modifié nos pratiques de conservation-restauration et son avenir résiderait, comme pour les procédés photochimiques, et davantage encore, dans la prévention.Although all photography, whether analogue or digital, begins with the impression of light on a sensitive support, the “digital revolution” has changed the way in which this medium is seen.In this context, in 2006, the Atelier de Restauration et de Conservation des Photographies de la Ville de Paris (ARCP) drew up a conservation plan for photochemical colour prints and digital prints now in municipal establishments.The majority of the different techniques listed in the inventory are those related to contemporary production, from chromogenic and ink-dot prints to digital silver imaging.But apart from the identification of photographic processes, which is crucial to the conservation of collections, the problems of mounting and displaying contemporary photography proved to be equally important.In the past few decades, much progress has been made in areas concerned with restoration and mounting by adapting familiar practices to new materials. In some cases, however, the collections have still resorted to reprinting damaged works. This solution does not constitute a definitive alternative, notably in the face of the obsolescence of supports.Lastly, digital photography has not modified our fundamental conservation-restoration practices and its future, like that of photochemical processes, if not more so, lies in preventive measures

Manual engagement and automation in amateur photography

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. Automation has been central to the development of modern photography and, in the age of digital and smartphone photography, now largely defines everyday experience of the photographic process. In this article, we question the acceptance of automation as the default position for photography, arguing that discussions of automation need to move beyond binary concerns of whether to automate or not and, instead, to consider what is being automated and the degree of automation couched within the particularities of people’s practices. We base this upon findings from ethnographic fieldwork with people engaging manually with film-based photography. While automation liberates people from having to interact with various processes of photography, participants in our study reported a greater sense of control, richer experiences and opportunities for experimentation when they were able to engage manually with photographic processes

Ethics and the crimes of the powerful

The ethical dimension adds a key tool for the analysis of the crimes of the powerful. This dimension is introduced in the analysis of the present article, which seeks to establish how offenders endowed with resources and power justify their conduct through a selective interpretation of classical Western philosophy

The politics of wire service photography: Infrastructures of representation in a digital newsroom

This article examines the politics of image brokering in the daily rituals of a major wire service's photography division. Specifically, it investigates crises of visualization: moments when routine visualization itself is challenged due to changes in infrastructures of representation. The transition to digital transmission has changed work of image brokers—people involved in the creation, validation, packaging, and circulation of images. New image brokers and changed infrastructures of representation challenge established hierarchies and who provides and polices news images. At a moment when the war on terror is also a war of images, battles over the infrastructures of representation are battles over visual worldmaking. [ digital, infrastructure of representation, photography, Agence France Presse, journalism, crisis of representation, wire service, visualization, Iraq ]Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90032/1/j.1548-1425.2011.01351.x.pd

Awards, Archives, and Affects: Tropes in the World Press Photo Contest 2009 - 2011

__Abstract__ Photography contests have assumed an increasingly significant public role in the context of the global surge of mass-mediated war reporting. This study focuses on the recurrence of visual tropes in press photographs awarded in the annual contest World Press Photo (WPP) in the years 2009–11. By tropes, we mean conventions (e.g. a mourning woman, a civilian facing soldiers, a distressed witness to an atrocity) that remain unchanged despite their travels across the visual sphere, gaining professional and public recognition and having a strong affective impact. We contend that photography contests such as the WPP influence and organize a process of generic understanding of war, disaster and atrocity that is based on a number of persistent tropes, such as the mourner, the protester or the survivor amidst chaos and ruins. We further show that these tropes are gendered along traditional conceptions of femininity and masculinity, appealing strongly to both judges and wider audiences. The evidence for our claim comes from an analysis of the photographs that won awards, observation of the judging sessions, semi-structured interviews with three jury chairmen, and public commentary on the juries’ choices (blogs, newspapers and websites)