photographers over a period of six years (1983–1989).
The central idea was to represent the nature of the
French territory today and the relationship inhabi-
tants have with it. Every contract was negotiated with
the photographer both technically and artistically so
that the result would be an artistic statement as well
as a source of meaning for the understanding and the
appropriation of what had become the buzz words of
the times: space and territory. Obviously not all
works succeeded in fulfilling this mission; the choice
of photographers and the rather literal influence of
the American New Topographics style (as exemplified
by Lewis Baltz or Frank Gohkle) limited the artistic
impact it could have had. As a project, however, it
was a milestone in the rediscovery of the complex
aspect of commissioning and it was a seminal experi-
ment for various other collective photo projects focus-
ing on community.
In 1990, Hers tried to open up his concept of
commission to any person or group—and not simply
classic public or private patrons—wishing to com-
mission a work of art by securing funding from the
Fondation de France. The Fondation de France,
created in 1969, finances innovative projects on soci-
etal issues not otherwise funded. In a manifesto
called ‘‘the Protocole,’’ Hers defined the role of the
‘‘mediator’’: half producer, half architect. The med-
iator negotiates the project between artist and com-
missioner; she or he organizes, structures, and helps
formalize the conception, realization, and eventual
dissemination or exhibition of the work.
Hers sees himself as this mediator. His photo-
graphic practice is now wholly contained in this
institutional role. He occupies an interesting,
albeit very marginal, place on the French photo-
graphy scene. Inheritor of the utopias of the 1960s
and 1970s, deeply committed to a democratic ideal
of access of all not to consumption but to co-
production of art works without compromising
the high requirement of art, his action tries toFranc ̧ ois Hers, ‘‘Interiors,’’ first photo in the series, 1981, Photo: Philippe Migeat.
[CNAC/MNAM/Dist. Re ́union des Muse ́es Nationaux/Art Resource, New York]
HERS, FRANC ̧ OIS