Flou : Une Histoire Photographique

This book is a history of photography through the prism of blur, from the invention of the process to the present day. We will discover that, depending on the period, blur is considered as a positive or negative value. In a historical and thematic development, the works presented tell the story of the evolution of this form whose uses have constantly changed according to the times and practices, whether they were amateur, artistic, scientific, or reporting. Punctuated by quotations, the book creates a dialogue between the images and the way in which the blur has been described by authors and artists as diverse as Charles Baudelaire, Julia Margaret Cameron or Pierre Bourdieu, thus highlighting the issues of the blur in the perception of the world. For as Serge Tisserond points out in his text, “If the rapid evolution of the world makes us anxious, we will probably prefer clear, stable images. If, on the other hand, we are distressed by a certain rigidity around us […], we will favour movement, the aspiration towards the future”.