L’écrivain Thomas Clerc pose, à travers une fiction, un regard tendre sur les « croûtes » de Montmartre
French writer and essayist Thomas Clerc has published a new fiction titled "Croûtes" as the fifteenth volume in the "Fléchette" collection by éditions sun/sun. The book draws inspiration from a single autochrome image taken from the Musée Albert-Kahn's "Archives de la planète" (1909–1931), specifically a one-minute film shot in March 1927 at the Foire aux croûtes in Montmartre, Paris. Clerc's narrative tenderly and humorously explores the life of an amateur painter and the infinite possibilities of so-called "croûtes"—a French slang term for amateurish or kitsch paintings that exist outside institutional recognition.
This work matters because it continues the innovative cross-disciplinary approach of éditions sun/sun, which blends literature, photography, and visual art. By centering a story on overlooked, non-canonical artworks, Clerc challenges conventional hierarchies of artistic value and celebrates the marginal, the amateur, and the ephemeral in visual culture. The book also highlights the enduring relevance of the Albert-Kahn archives, a unique early-20th-century photographic and film collection, as a springboard for contemporary creative reinterpretation.