Réinventer le visible

In Europe, after the Second World War, a new generation of artists, who fundamentally changed the face of photography, reached maturity. As a matter of course, they combined the documentary aspect of photography and the desire to create works of art destined for the walls of museums and galleries. These artists were convinced that photography not only passively registered reality, but was also actively involved in its construction. The works presented here are from the collection of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, one of the few museums in Europe specialised in photography. These influential French photographs provide tactile examples of the many and various innovations within the medium since the 1980s.