Photographers Facing History

Serious Topics

On the occasion of photography’s bicentenary, this lecture explores how our view of images has evolved. Long focused on techniques and the major names in art history, the history of photography is now more interested in the social uses of images and their place in everyday life. Many contemporary photographers also turn to archives and vernacular photography to inform their work. Some reinterpret old images, while others reconnect with historical processes at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming our relationship with photography. How do historians and artists use the past to understand the present? What do photographic archives tell us about our society and visual culture? Michel Poivert is an art historian, professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, critic, exhibition curator and founder of the Collège international de photographie.