About the archive

Pierre Bourdieu entrusted his entire archive of photographs, taken during his fieldwork in Algeria between 1958 and 1961 and in Lasseube, Béarn (France) between 1961 and 1962, to the Bourdieu Foundation and Camera Austria with the aim of making them accessible to the public. During his lifetime, Bourdieu was very critical of the publication of his photographs, as he did not want them to be misunderstood as aesthetic or artistic photography. Together with him, it was therefore decided that this photographic work should only ever be understood and presented in publications or exhibitions as an inseparable part of his ethnographic field research and in dialogue with the written testimonies produced at the same time. Since his death, these images have been made available to the public in numerous exhibitions and publications.

 

Pierre Bourdieu systematically used photography as a method, instrument, and form of knowledge during his early field research. In doing so, he expanded the research and methodological repertoire of the social sciences to include original empirical photographic image practices.  Until now, only a fraction of Bourdieu's photo archive and the extensive corresponding documents in Paris were accessible. Only now, as part of the DFG project “Photography as an Instrument, Method, and Form of Knowledge in Pierre Bourdieu's Sociological Research,” have the visual components been viewed, structured, and related to Bourdieu's ethnographic and sociological studies. The first-ever digital archiving of the photographs now gives all followers of Bourdieu, researchers, historians interested in the colonial period and the revolution in Algeria, and of course photographers and photo aesthetes free access to the photographs.

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One of the main activities of the Fondation Pierre Bourdieu has been the management of Bourdieu's photographic archive, which contains images from his research in Algeria. Bourdieu handed these images over to the Fondation Pierre Bourdieu and Camera Austria. As far as possible in line with Bourdieu's intentions, who was able to accompany the project until autumn 2001, the traveling exhibition "Pierre Bourdieu. In Algeria. Testimonies of Uprooting". It was first shown in 2003 at the Institut du monde arabe in Paris and has since been touring, always accompanied by symposia and conferences discussing the legacy and relevance of Bourdieu's theory and methods (especially photography).

 

To date, the archive has been shown in the US, Algeria, and many European countries. The illustrated publication accompanying the exhibition is available in German and French. In the extensive reception of the exhibition in specialist journals and the daily press, it has become increasingly clear that Bourdieu's works are not primarily to be viewed in their aesthetic dimension, but rather as visual anthropology or ethnographic primary material, providing access to Bourdieu's entire oeuvre.

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In 2024, the archive was brought back to its “home” in Paris. The Centre Pompidou purchased a large part of the collection, which is now housed in the Kadinsky Library in Paris. The image rights remain with the Fondation Pierre Bourdieu. By managing the image rights to Bourdieu's photographic archive and publishing these records, the foundation intends to continue contributing to the dissemination of Bourdieu's intellectual legacy in the future.

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​More information on the chronology of historical events in Algeria can be found here.​

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On the structure and organization of the Pierre Bourdieu digital photo archive

Bourdieu labeled and organized his photographic documents by place and time and stored them carefully in parchment bags. After his return to France, his pictures disappeared into cardboard boxes, from which he occasionally took them out, but rarely showed them to the public on cover pages or in publications without naming the source.

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Unfortunately, many images were lost in the decades leading up to the takeover of the archive by the Fondation Bourdieu and Camera Austria. Of the original approximately 3,000 photos, only about 700 objects could still be found when the archive was taken over in 2001. At the end of 2017, a second collection of negatives and prints was found in the Pierre Bourdieu Archive at the Université de Condorcet and was added to the digital archive.

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The current status (2021) of the archive comprises 1,153 objects.

- 994 negatives in 6 cm × 6 cm format

- 109 negatives in 35 mm format

- 216 contact or working prints in formats ranging from 6 cm × 6 cm to a maximum of 12.5 cm × 12.5 cm

 

In addition to the negatives, 230 large-format vintage prints measuring 23 cm × 23 cm, and a smaller group measuring 30 cm × 30 cm, which Pierre Bourdieu arranged thematically in three albums, form the most important part of the archive. There are no negatives for 93 of these 230 prints, meaning that these original photographs are the only sources still available. Currently, there are 1,003 scans of negatives and 150 reproductions of prints without negatives.

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Almost all of the photos were taken by Bourdieu himself. In some cases, it is unclear whether the photographs are third-party images, but this question is irrelevant for those in which Bourdieu himself can be seen. Most of the titles of the photographs were provided by Pierre Bourdieu. The dates and locations were also provided by him and were supplemented where they could be clearly derived from existing image material or publications. To ensure the materials were classified correctly, discussions were also held with local ethnographic informants, Tassadit Yacine and Salah Bouhedja, and the relevant documents in the Bourdieu Archive in Paris (Campus Condorcet) were consulted.

 

Archive numbering

The original numbering of the negatives has been retained as the archive number for the images. A system of letters indicates whether the archive contains an original print with an existing negative (N_P), only a negative (N), or an original print without an existing negative (R). In 2019, high-quality scans and digital working prints were made of all negatives and original photographs in order to no longer expose the originals to the risk of further damage. The exact meaning of the archive numbers is explained in the following section:

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Each object in the digital archive (i.e., each data record in the digital archive) is identified by its file name. There are currently 1,153 objects in the archive: 1,003 scans from negatives, 150 reproductions of vintage prints without negatives.

 

File name: The file name is based on the numbering of the negatives created by PB and indicated on the original negatives. These numbers are supplemented by letters that provide information about which original material is available in the physical archive:

 

N = Original negative in 6 x 6 cm format, no print available. See N_001_1 or N_131_8

The largest group of objects is designated N = negative and comprises exclusively negatives in 6 cm x 6 cm format (roll film, medium format camera), which PB primarily worked with. A roll of film allows for 12 exposures.

 

The first ordinal number introduced by Bourdieu refers to the film or another unit (from 1 to 131), which could be indicated by the correspondingly numbered contact prints. This numbering is sometimes supplemented by consecutive 3-digit, in some cases 4-digit numbers, and in some cases they are numbered consecutively within the designated group.

 

P (= print) = original negative + one vintage print, e.g.: N_006_5_P

P is added after the negative number. For your information: P replaces the designation O (preceding the negative number) used between 2001 and 2018. The list of illustrations in the book “In Algeria” is based on this system. It was only during the digitization of the entire archive in 2019 that the existing negative (N) was defined as the lowest common denominator and P (proof of an existing original photograph) was added as additional information.

 

R (= reproduction) = vintage photograph without an existing negative. R_001 to R_107.

93 original photographs in this group.

For your information: The second collection (acquired in 2017) contained some negatives for the photographs in the original group R, which were therefore moved to group N: ergo, there are some gaps in the current group R.

 

L (= Lasseube): Reproductions of contact prints 6 cm x 6 cm, reproduced with the deckle edge of the original, cf. L_001 to L_020; some negatives of these photographs are available, these are marked in group N with additional information L, cf. N_007_1_L to N007_5_L.

 

A (= Album): A total of 36 reproductions of small-format prints from 35 mm negatives. Actually belonging to group R, as no negative is available.

For information: 21 of these photographs had been arranged by PB in a specific way on two double pages of the album, which we have reproduced accordingly in the book; based on this arrangement, these objects are labeled with the identifiers 1a to f; 2a to e; 3a to e; and 4a to e. All other objects are labeled consecutively from A_005 to A_020.

 

For your information: Since this is the only collection of 35mm photographs, it seemed justified to create a separate group. PB began his photographic work with a Leica, i.e., a 35mm camera, and then switched to an Ikoflex viewfinder camera, which allowed him to define his subjects through the viewfinder without having to raise the camera to his eye.

 

C (=color print): A total of 9 photographs, 35mm format

 

A vintage print refers to an original photograph that was produced shortly after it was taken. In the PB archive, this term is only used to describe large-format prints. Size of vintage prints: 23 cm x 23 cm and 30 cm x 30 cm. Current number of vintage prints: 230.

 

Contact prints (these are prints that are exposed in direct contact between the negative and photographic paper, i.e., without enlargement, and reproduce the negative format 1:1).

 

Work prints refer to small enlargements that may have been produced as test prints. The term is also used to refer to the working prints produced by CA when it took over the archive in 2001 (18 cm x 24 cm prints in the CA archive; Xerox copies at FS). We also use the term to refer to the digital prints of the entire archive (A4) newly digitized in 2019/2020.

 

Camera use

Bourdieu used two different cameras.

Most of the photos (group N) were taken with an analog medium-format camera, a Zeiss Ikoflex (roll film for 12 exposures), and are preserved in 60 mm x 60 mm format. These are square negatives.

This viewfinder camera was a novelty from Germany and the classic camera for photojournalists at the time. Like its predecessor, the classic Rolleiflex, it allowed the photographer to take more discreet shots, as the viewfinder was located on top of the body and the camera had to be held at chest height instead of in front of the face. Thus, it was sufficient to lower one's gaze to determine the correct image section and press the shutter release at the right moment. This is how many of his fleeting, moving, and candid shots were taken.

This camera was the most common reporter camera from the interwar period onwards.

At the beginning of his photographic work, Bourdieu took pure images with a Leica 35mm camera. These are the 35mm photographs marked with an A here. They can be recognized by their landscape and portrait formats.

 

Search and filter functions

This archive has deliberately not been organized according to social science concepts in order to avoid suggesting preconceived categorizations to users, but is limited to descriptive, object-related classifications.

The archive can be searched using the seven categories displayed:

City/location: Algiers, Ghardaïa, Collo, ...

Public spaces: cafes, fountains, squares, ...

Situation/activity: trade, work, consumption, ...

Year: 1957-1962

People: man, woman, children, girl, boy, old man, old woman

Dress code: Western/modern, traditional, uniform, etc.

Type of photograph: portrait, group photograph, group portrait, gathering, etc.

 

After selecting categories, the user must click on “Filter images” to start the search.

When you click on an image, you will see an enlarged version and receive further information:

Archive number

Title of the image – in most cases the title chosen by Bourdieu

Location of the photograph (in some cases specified by Bourdieu himself, in many cases reconstructed with the help of ethnographic informants Tassadid Yacine and Sallah Boumidja, among others)

Year in which the image was taken (in some cases specified by Bourdieu himself, in some others reconstructed, among other things with the help of ethnographic informants Tassadid Yacine and Sallah Bouhedja)

Use by Pierre Bourdieu for and in his publications, if applicable

Practical information about the respective photograph, such as the existence and size of the negative, the print, and the technique used

 

Some images are accompanied by comments, most of which were provided by Tassadit Yacine. 

If the image was taken with a 35mm camera instead of the medium-format camera that Bourdieu used for most of his images, this is also mentioned in the comment.

 

We would be delighted to receive your questions and comments by email: fondationbourdieu@protonmail.com

 

 

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Tassadit Yacine and Christine Frisinghelli. Yacine kindly shared her wealth of knowledge about Algerian society and culture with us as an ethnographic informant, and Christine Frisinghelli, who played a key role in the previous study "Pierre Bourdieu: In Algeria" from 2003, supported us with her comprehensive knowledge of the photography collection. We are also very grateful to her.

 

Of course, we would also like to express our sincere thanks to the Deutschen Forschungsgesellschaft and the Zeppelin Universitätsgesellschaft e.V. , which made the entire research project possible through their funding.