Claude Baillargeon (1949–2016) was a political poster artist who is best known for his work with the French Socialist Party in the 1970s and 1980s. Influenced by the example of the historical avant-gardes as well as by his contemporaries, such as Roman Cieslewicz and Hector Cattolica, Claude Baillargeon showed a predilection for photomontage, for the constructed image, in the service of an explicit political message. From 2022 to 2023, La Contemporaine, a library dedicated to contemporary history located on the campus of the University Paris Nanterre, devoted an exhibition to Baillargeon’s career. This library-museum has acquired his archive, which includes numerous posters as well as photographs and preparatory layouts, making it possible to document precisely the different stages in the creation of his graphic projects. In this interview, the two curators of the exhibition discuss the different dimensions of Baillargeon’s composite images.
Claude Baillargeon, Hector Cattolica, Rassembler pour changer, maquette de l’affiche de la série « L’autre politique » du Parti socialiste en vue de l’élection présidentielle française de 1981, 1980, 65 x 50 cm. Nanterre, La contemporaine. © Claude Baillargeon
Joseph Chantier is in charge of the posters collection at La Contemporaine, University Paris Nanterre. Cécile Tardy is co-director of La Contemporaine, University Paris Nanterre.
Keywords: Claude Baillargeon (1949–2016), posters, French Socialist Party, photomontage, graphic design, La Contemporaine (Nanterre)
Citation: Cécile Tardy, Joseph Chantier, Max Bonhomme, Laura Truxa, « Le matériel d’un graphiste, Claude Baillargeon (1949-2016) », Transbordeur. Photographie histoire société, no. 7, 2023, pp. 136-145.