ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

1990s Photography: Figures of Disenchantment

opinion-review · 2026-04-23

A 1998 analysis in artpress examines the paradoxes of 1990s photography: unprecedented institutional recognition coexists with a narrow focus on consensual works. The decade's creative photography is characterized by a retreat into obsolete purism and the decline of 1980s paradigms, notably the Düsseldorf School. The proliferation of images raises fundamental questions of evaluation.

Key facts

  • 1990s photography enjoyed unprecedented recognition but only for consensual works.
  • Creative photography became a maintenance of obsolete purism.
  • The Düsseldorf School paradigm declined in the 1990s.
  • The proliferation of images raised questions of evaluation.
  • The analysis was published in artpress in November 1998.

Entities

Institutions

  • artpress
  • Düsseldorf School

Sources