Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of History of Art
Bryn Mawr College

“The Limits of Documentary: Identity and Urban Development in Agnes Varda’s Daguerreotypes (1975)”

French filmmaker Agnes Varda’s experimental documentary Daguerreotypes (1975) is often viewed as a quaint, cinematic portrait of a Parisian street, the rue Daguerre, where she lives and works.  In contrast, this presentation excavates the film’s previously unacknowledged sources, demonstrating how Varda drew on a range of visual media—photography, film, and contemporary art—to create sophisticated social and political commentary on urban and economic transformations taking place in France in the late 20th century.