Tate Modern's 'Cruel and Tender' Rewrites Photo History for Market Gain

The exhibition 'Cruel et tendre, le réel dans la photographie du 20e siècle' at Tate Modern (June 5–September 7, 2003) is criticized for serving market interests by validating a narrow canon of mostly German and American photographers. The show features exceptional works by Thomas Ruff, August Sander, Thomas Struth, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Fazal Sheikh, Michael Schmidt, Robert Frank, Stephen Shore, Walker Evans, Nicholas Nixon, William Eggleston, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Diane Arbus, Martin Parr, Paul Graham, Andreas Gursky, Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, Lewis Baltz, and Robert Adams. However, it omits French, Spanish, Japanese, and other artists, notably Eugène Atget, Cindy Sherman, Bustamante, and Jean-Luc Moulène. The curators, Emma Dexter (British) and Thomas Weski (German), are accused of rewriting photographic history to align with market trends, favoring artists from Germany, the US, and Britain. The thematic framework of 'cruel' and 'tender' is deemed incoherent, and the installation juxtaposes disparate practices without meaningful connection. Despite the quality of individual works, the exhibition is seen as a validation of commercial values rather than a genuine historical survey.