Élisabeth Pagnoux responds to Jacques Henric and Philippe Forest in art press debate on Didi-Huberman

In the April 2004 issue of art press (no. 297), Élisabeth Pagnoux publishes a response to texts by Jacques Henric and Philippe Forest that criticized her earlier article on Georges Didi-Huberman's book 'Images malgré tout'. Pagnoux rejects the label 'iconophobe' applied by Henric, arguing that her critique targets not images themselves but Didi-Huberman's interpretation and use of images. She accuses Henric and Didi-Huberman of conflating interpretation with manipulation, misquoting texts, and avoiding substantive debate. Pagnoux defends her 2001 article 'Reporter photographe à Auschwitz' published in Les Temps modernes (no. 613), which responded to an exhibition of Nazi camp photographs at Hôtel de Sully, Paris (12 January – 15 March 2001). She claims both Henric and Didi-Huberman engage in 'estafilade' (cutting and disfiguring citations) and share a taste for fragments. Pagnoux distinguishes her position from iconoclasm, asserting that the real issue is the denial of interpretation and language. She invites readers to view all images and read all texts, particularly those of Claude Lanzmann. A separate response from Claude Lanzmann is announced for the next issue. Jacques Henric adds a brief note dismissing Pagnoux's argument as merely stylistic.