Seeing and touching archive documents gives us access to the past, to events we re-imagine, to people we remember. But how do archives guarantee the truth?
What are the positions of historians, who apply scientific rigour? What are the positions of artists, who appropriate the archive and give free rein to their imagination? Can an archive tell us anything? The answers differ depending on whether you are a historian or an artist. What are the solutions for reconciling the historical and artistic approaches?
This talk will first look at the working methods of the historian, for whom archive documents are 'primary sources'. It will then look at the use of archives in art, drawing on examples from literature (Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Jules Verne, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc.), film (Twin Peaks, Dark, etc.) and photography (Joan Fontcuberta, Sally Mann, etc.). Finally, Philippe Black will share his thoughts on his own artistic research.
Philippe Black is a historian, literary historian, journalist and photographer. In 2010, he defended a thesis on the history of literature in the Eastern Townships between the wars at UCLouvain, where he taught from 2010 to 2021 and where he is currently a researcher. A graduate of the Agnès Varda School of Photography in Brussels, he exhibited his Borderlines and Transition projects at Espace Vanderborght in 2020.