PHOTO is a French monthly int'l magazine dedicated to photography, which has in its 50 years of existence imposed itself as an international cultural reference. Almost each of its cover features a scantily-clad woman.

 

Dorothée Elisa Baumann reproduced it covers and advertisements of the 70s till the 90s and presents them in the exhibition as wallpaper posters. Their sexist visual language is reinforced by their cropping and the enlargement of the covers to poster size while their materiality, their wear and scratches, as well as the offset printing process, become visible and indicate their cultural context.

 

The visitor is challenged by this sexual language and guided to an artist book, where the sampling act is articulated on a another level in confronting adds of the photo industry and its covers found in the magazines.

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I am very grateful to the Camera Museum Vevey (Switzerland) and especially to the direction and the administrative team of the archives for giving me access to their collection and archival material. A special thank you also goes to my friends Jeanne Gillard and Nicolas Rivet for the many discussions regarding my project.

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