Luce Lebart / Inventions, 1915–1938

Between 1916 and 1939, thousands of films and photographs were produced in France in line with the national policy encouraging scientific and industrial research. These largely unknown images stand as visual witnesses to twenty years of invention and research. Their analog archives trace through the history of innovation, anchored at first in war and national defense, before shifting towards civilian and domestic life. This history, interlaced with design, lies at the crossroads of science, technology and industry. The images also tell a story that is still unfolding today, that of the institutionalisation of research.

From the very beginning, a systematic archiving policy was set up. These administrative, yet aesthetically breathtaking images were produced in mass by the institution. Behind the scenes, however, visionaries and pioneers harnessed and experimented with the power of the still and moving image: its demonstrative, archival, educational, aesthetic and communicational applications.