Polaroid in Peril ! Polaroid.... during the second half of the 20th century the name was synonymous with innovation in photography, and other domains besides (Who does not, or has not, owned a pair of Polaroid sunglasses?). Moreover, the Polaroid Corporation was innovative in ways beyond the impressive range of their products: realizing that artists would invent new 'applications' if encouraged to use Polaroid cameras and films, the company was generous with both. Many photographers accepted Polaroid's offer, experimenting with varying degrees of success, on the condition that the company received prints in exchange (rights of reproduction, it was made clear, would remain with the photographers). Polaroid's great attraction was its instantaneity (though not as truly instant as today's digital processes), and amateurs and professionals alike took joy in clicking the shutter and then watching the image slowly emerge on the paper (it had previously only been possible to see such magic in a chemical darkroom!). Some artists realized that by applying pressure on the paper 'envelope' as the chemistry inside took its course, they could change the resulting image in dramatic ways, producing images which looked painterly. The Polaroid collection rapidly grew, and today there are more or less 16,000 works, of which 4,500 are housed in the Musée de l'Elysée. They remain, however, property of the PBC Corporation, which took possession of the entire collection after the bankruptcy of the original Polaroid Corporation (bankruptcy twice, in 2001 and 2008). Failure of Polaroid was inevitable, as the digital revolution made Polaroid's chemical processes redundant. As of March 1st, it is not known if the entire collection will be sold, or merely parts of it, but it is the firm intention of the current owners to sell it if they can. This is seen as a tragedy in the photography world, as dispersion would mean the loss of a unique archive, and indeed, a fascinating chapter in the history of photography. However, there is Polaroid 'fans' working to save the collection, and there remains a slim chance that the collection at the Musée de l'Elysée will remain here. Let us hope so.

Durant un demi-siècle, Polaroïd a été synonyme de photographie instantanée. Malgré l'attachement que lui portaient les amateurs comme les professionnels, les films et les appareils Polaroïd ont été victime de la révolution numérique. Avec toutes les consé-quences que cela impliquait pour quantité d'artistes qui appréciaient les qualités propres à ce procédé. Depuis vingt ans, le Musée de l'Elysée conserve les 4500 œuvres originales de la Collection Polaroïd européenne. Les faillites de la société Polaroïd (en 2001et en 2008), mettent en péril l'avenir de sa collection, aux Etats-Unis comme en Europe. Il n'est pas certain aujourd'hui que cette collection d'importance historique reste intacte. L'exposition « Polaroïd en péril ! » ne présente qu'un aperçu de la production artistique des 850 photographes qui sont représentés dans la collection du Musée de l'Elysée. Cette sélection rend néanmoins compte de la créativité des artistes qui ont accepté l'invitation de Polaroïd à expérimenter leurs produits innovants, poussant le procédé à ses limites ! Parmi les photographes suisses représentés dans la collection figurent Béa-trice Helg, Alan Humerose, Monique Jacot, Muriel Olesen, Gérald Minkoff, Jacques Pu-gin et Christian Vogt. Leur travail est présenté conjointement à celui de plusieurs photo-graphes de renommée internationale, tels que Ansel Adams, Manuel Alvarez-Bravo, Nancy Burson, Walker Evans, Joan Fontcuberta, Gisèle Freund, Luigi Ghirri, Ralph Gib-son, Yousuf Karsh, David Levinthal, Sally Mann, Robert Mapplethorpe, Arno Minkkinen, Sarah Moon, Arnold Newman, Helmut Newton, Bill Owens, Bernard Plossu, Bettina Rheims, Lucas Samaras, Stephen Shore, Aaron Siskind, Oliviero Toscani, Andy Warhol et Willliam Wegman.