Marking the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the National School of Photography in Arles (ENSP), this symposium is organised and chaired by Françoise Docquiert, deputy director of the Arts and Sciences of the Arts Department at University of Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne and Rémy Fenzy, ENSP director, in partnership with Connaissance des Arts Photos.
The 1980s brought radical change to the status of photography. Suddenly a vast mass of largely unanalysed images was thrown open to theorisation and it became possible to see photography as an art, with festivals, exhibitions, museums and institutions playing their part in bringing the medium fresh appreciation and standing. This joint contribution laid the groundwork for an approach to photography as a discipline in its own right and for a unified, overall view of the different fields it embraces.
In this context new schools of practice appeared that were conceptually totally different from those of the interwar years. Berndt Becher's accession to the chair of photography at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1976 would leave its imprint on succeeding generations of students; and the founding of the National School of Photography in Arles in 1982 triggered the idea of training "image people" whose broad, transversal knowledge would cover all the discipline's theoretical, technical and artistic facets. Open to all forms of photographic expression, the School's gamut includes domains as diverse as amateur photography, reportage, official documents, public and private archival material, journalism, the media, the Internet and the social networks.
In addition to its implicit reference to the technical development of the medium, the title "Intensities of Photography" calls attention to the fact that photography is more than ever before a participant in today's climate of aesthetic, sociological and technological change; moreover, it affirms the importance of photography education and the significant contribution made by schools of photography.
4 JULY: PHOTOGRAPHY AND EDUCATION
10 am – 1 pm
How is photography taught in France and abroad? What are the characteristics and main goals of the schools of photography? How does each school shape a clear identity for itself?
Chaired by Jean-Noël Jeanneney, president of the Rencontres d’Arles, François Hébel, director of the Rencontres d’Arles and Rémy Fenzy, ENSP director;
with Françoise Denoyelle, professor at the École Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière in Paris; Phillip S. Block, director of programs at the International Center of Photography, New York; Olivier Faron, director general of the École Normale Supérieure, Lyon; John Fleetwood, director of Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg; Tadashi Ono, professor of photography at Kyoto University of Art and Design; Michel Poivert, professor at University of Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne, head of the History of Art and Archaeology department; Olivier Richon, professor at the Royal College of Art, London.
5 JULY: INFRA-MINCE AND PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINES
10 am – 1 pm
How do photography magazines analyse changes in photography and the medium's vitality in the contemporary context?
Chaired by Patrick Talbot, historian, art and photography critic, editor in chief of the magazine
Infra-mince, jointly published by the National School of Photography in Arles and Actes Sud publishers.
with Jeanne Fouchet, deputy chief editor Connaissance des Arts Photo; Elisa Medde editor at Foam magazine; Alejandro Castellano, director of Luna/Cornea magazine;Arnaud Claass, writer, photographer, teacher at the ENSP and member of the editorial board of Infra-mince; Thierry Gervais, editor in chief of Études Photographiques; Xavier Soule, director of the Vu agency and Abvent Éditions.
6 JULY: ARTISTS HAVE THEIR SAY
10 am – 1 pm
What is the effect of photography teaching on the work of graduates? Do photography schools produce an enduring community of points of view? Or do they simply standardise? And how do graduates develop professionally?
With Rémy Fenzy, ENSP director, Muriel Toulemonde, photographer and teacher at the ENSP, and Christine Ollier, director of Les Filles du Calvaire gallery, Paris;
and ENSP graduates: Isabelle Le Minh, Dorothée Smith, Alexandre Maubert, Mehdi Meddaci and Bruno Serralongue.
