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Arnaud Claass critiques the academization of photography

opinion-review · 2026-04-23

Photographer Arnaud Claass, who rarely writes, breaks his silence to denounce the academization of photography under dual pressure from institutions imposing exhibition models and critical discourses legitimizing the discipline. He argues for accepting photography as an impure object, whose impurity constitutes its specificity. Claass is preparing a retrospective of his work for 1996 at the new Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris.

Key facts

  • Arnaud Claass is a photographer who occasionally uses words.
  • He had not written in several years before this text.
  • He criticizes the academization of photography.
  • Institutions impose models based on their exhibition needs and historical vision.
  • Critical discourses seek to legitimize the discipline.
  • Claass argues photography should be accepted as an impure object.
  • Impurity is what makes photography specific.
  • A retrospective of his work is planned for 1996 at the Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris.

Entities

Artists

  • Arnaud Claass

Institutions

  • Maison européenne de la photographie

Locations

  • Paris
  • France

Sources