Passeur d’images : regards d’un photographe amateur sur la société marocaine, la collection de Désiré Sic, 1912-1934 - HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article dans une revue Sources. Material & Fieldwork in African Studies Année : 2023

Passeur d’images : regards d’un photographe amateur sur la société marocaine, la collection de Désiré Sic, 1912-1934

Résumé

Este artigo apresenta um fundo fotográfico amador, uma grande parte do qual diz respeito a Marrocos colonial, de 1912 até à década de 1930. O processo de transformar essas fotografias em fontes, consiste, antes de mais, em procurar fazer a história da colecção dessas quatro mil fotografias: de que modo um conjunto de placas de vidro chega aos historiadores? Qual é a função e a intenção do autor das imagens? Que estatuto receberam ao longo de décadas? Tentamos reconstituir os passos deste oficial subalterno do exército francês, que fotografa Marrocos durante duas décadas, e, em seguida, se dedica a conservar estas imagens durante todo o resto da sua existência, no seio da intimidade familiar. Trata-se, portanto, de estudar a produção, a circulação e a conservação destas fotografias produzidas por um actor modesto, fora de qualquer celebridade, de qualquer reconhecimento cultural, político ou social Fonte discreta, ignorada durante muito tempo, esquecida, estas imagens foram objecto de uma arqueologia familiar, o que determina o seu acesso por parte dos pesquisadores. O que vemos nestas fotografias realizadas sem objectivo indicado de documentação? Como se pode inscrever um fundo destes na imagética colonial? O percurso do fotógrafo amador constrói-se ao longo da sua carreira de oficial subalterno, em seguida de oficial de engenharia do exército francês, durante a sua estada em Marrocos dos dois lados da Grande Guerra. A temporalidade das fotografias e a da constituição da colecção devem ser estudadas, a fim de se definir o contexto das fotografias que chegaram até nós. O processo de investigação tenta, então, concentrar-se nos indícios que testemunham a intencionalidade na constituição deste fundo, postulando que, embora esta tenha um carácter intimo e nunca seja formulada, o processo de conservação não é deixado ao acaso. Igualmente o fundo de fotografias de Désiré Sic, quer estas tenham sido tiradas em Marrocos ou em França, poder-se-á inscrever na história da prática amadora do início do século XX e permite interrogar a natureza desta prática: simples utilização de um dispositivo técnico banalizado ou produção cultural de valor original por parte de um autodidacta? Por isso vale a pena reunir os indícios da cultura visual deste actor modesto. Como se apropria do repertório orientalista? Como utiliza as regras comuns aos fotógrafos excursionistas? Esta abordagem leva-nos a observar as especificidades do olhar orientalista e colonial, confrontando-as com outros motivos recorrentes, que impregnam essas fotografias de amador. Deste modo, é possível abordar a dimensão documental destes fundos quanto às fotografias coloniais, sendo a questão do poder recorrente, apesar da posição modesta do autor, na hierarquia militar e na sociedade. É ao cruzamento de olhares que este fundo convida, sem isolar a experiência colonial de uma cultura transnacional.
This article presents an amateur photography archive, most of it dealing with colonial Morocco, from 1912 to the 1930s. To enable these photographs to be used as sources, the approach involves firstly seeking to establish the history of the collection of these four thousand photographs: how did such a collection of glass plates manage to reach the historians? What was the role of the author of the photographs and what were his intentions? What was the status attributed to them over the decades? We have attempted to reconstruct the actions of this NCO in the French army who photographed Morocco during two decades and then took care to conserve these photographs for the rest of his life, in the privacy of his own family circle. Then it has been a matter of studying the production, the circulation and the conservation of these photographs produced by an actor of modest status, far removed from any kind of renown or any cultural, political or social recognition. A source that has been discreet, long ignored, forgotten, these images have been unearthed by a process of family archaeology, which has enabled researchers to gain access to them. What do we see in these photographs taken without any declared documentary purpose? How can we relate an archive of this kind to the corpus of colonial imagery? The itinerary of this amateur photographer was constructed in the course of his career as NCO then officer of engineers in the French army, during his stays in Morocco, before and after the Great War. The time frame of the photographs and of the constitution of the collection must be examined in order to determine the context of the photographs that have come down to us. The research process thus involves picking up clues which provide evidence of the intention behind the constitution of this archive, on the assumption that despite being a private matter and never made explicit, the act of conservation was by no means a matter of chance. The photographic archive of Désiré Sic, whether the pictures were taken in Morocco or in France, may be considered as part of the history of amateur photography in the early 20th century and raises questions regarding the nature of this practice: simply the use of a common technical tool or cultural production of original value, achieved by a self-taught photographer? It is thus the clues to the visual culture of this modest photographer that we need to gather. How did he take assimilate the orientalist repertoire? How did he make use of the rules common to travelling photographers? This approach involves examining the specificities of the orientalist and colonial perspective by comparing them with other recurrent motifs which permeate these amateur photographs. This offers a way to address the documentary dimension of this archive relative to the snapshots of the colonisation, the issue of power being recurrent despite the lowly status of the author in the military hierarchy and in society. This archive is an invitation to a comparison of views, without isolating the colonial experience from a transnational culture.
Cet article présente un fonds photographique amateur, dont une grande partie porte sur le Maroc colonial, de 1912 aux années 1930. Pour constituer ces photographies en sources, la démarche consiste tout d’abord à chercher à faire l’histoire de la collection de ces quatre mille photographies : comment un tel ensemble de plaques de verre parvient-il jusqu’aux historiens ? Quelles sont la part et l’intention de l’auteur des images ? Quel statut celles-ci reçoivent-elles au fil des décennies ? Nous tentons de restituer la démarche de ce sous-officier de l’armée française qui photographie le Maroc pendant deux décennies et s’emploie ensuite à conserver ces images pendant tout le reste de son existence, au sein de l’intimité familiale. Il s’agit dès lors d’étudier la production, la circulation et la conservation de ces photographies produites par un acteur modeste, en dehors de toute célébrité, de toute reconnaissance culturelle, politique ou sociale. Source discrète, longtemps ignorée, oubliée, ces images ont fait l’objet d’une archéologie familiale, qui détermine l’accès des chercheurs. Que voyons-nous par ces photographies réalisées sans objectif affiché de documentation ? Comment peut-on inscrire un tel fonds dans l’imagerie coloniale ? Le parcours du photographe amateur se construit au long sa carrière de sous-officier puis d’officier du génie dans l’armée française, pendant ses séjours au Maroc, de part et d’autre de la Grande Guerre. La temporalité des prises de vues et celle de la constitution de la collection sont à interroger, afin de cerner le contexte des photographies parvenues jusqu’à nous. La démarche de recherche tente alors de s’attacher aux indices qui témoignent de l’intentionnalité dans la constitution de ce fonds, postulant que, même si elle relève de l’intime et n’est jamais formulée, la démarche de conservation n’est en rien laissée au hasard. Aussi, le fonds des photographies de Désiré Sic, qu’elles soient prises au Maroc ou en France, peut-il s’inscrire dans l’histoire de la pratique amateur des débuts du xxe siècle et permet d’interroger la nature de cette pratique : simple usage d’un outil technique banalisé ou production culturelle à valeur originale, de la part d’un autodidacte ? Ce sont alors les indices de la culture visuelle de cet acteur modeste qu’il convient de rassembler. Comment s’approprie-t-il le répertoire orientaliste ? Comment use-t-il des règles communes aux photographes excursionnistes ? Cette approche conduit à interroger les spécificités du regard orientaliste et colonial, en les confrontant aux autres motifs récurrents qui imprègnent ces photographies d’amateur. Ainsi, est-il possible d’approcher la dimension documentaire de ces fonds quant aux instantanés de la colonisation, la question du pouvoir étant récurrente malgré la position modeste de l’auteur dans la hiérarchie militaire et dans la société. C’est au croisement des regards, que ce fonds invite, sans isoler l’expérience coloniale d’une culture transnationale.

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halshs-04125865, version 1 (20-06-2023)

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Paternité - Partage selon les Conditions Initiales - CC BY 4.0

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  • HAL Id : halshs-04125865 , version 1

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Laurence Americi, Aurélia Dusserre. Passeur d’images : regards d’un photographe amateur sur la société marocaine, la collection de Désiré Sic, 1912-1934. Sources. Material & Fieldwork in African Studies, 2023, 6 | Photos & Photographers, pp.89-138. ⟨halshs-04125865⟩
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