Does it still make sense to study photography in national terms in an era when most cultural practices have become transnational, if not global, certainly in the case of language-insensitive media such as photography? And if so, how is it possible to do it in ways that do not simply return to outdated models of nationalism? And how to interpret the fact that French photography (and French art in general) is no longer strongly visible on the international scene, despite the worldwide success of some theoreticians and a (very small) number of practitioners? Focusing on the transformations of photography in France since the 1970s, with the oil crisis of 1973 as a turning point in the economic and political history of the country, this book gives a nuanced yet clear answer to all these questions.
According to Olga Smith, the (relative) international absence of French photography is not the outcome...