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Freedom and Photography: Le Baiser


Brassai
Andre Kertesz
Henri Cartier Bresson
Doisneau
Aurélie Filippetti, the former French minister of culture has expressed that Article 9 is unacceptable with regards to photographs. “Without them, our society doesn’t have a face,” she said. “Because of this law, we run the risk of losing our memory.” Doisneau’s “Baiser de L’Hotel de Ville” (1950) landed him in court decades after taking it. According to what I read in Wikipedia, Jean and Denise Lavergne erroneously believed they were the subjects and invoked their rights under the French privacy laws. Doisneau was forced to reveal he had asked the real couple to pose, after having seen them kiss spontaneously and not wanting to intrude. He won the court case. The woman in the photo, Francoise Bornet, said: "We didn't mind. We were used to kissing. We were doing it all the time then, it was delicious.”

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