Jean-Pierre is a photojournalist in the traditional sense – a fly on the wall documentarian of the world around him. As such, rebellion becomes an attitude, rather than a specific political viewpoint in the book – rebels appear through activism, fashion, art, music and even religion in his photographs. And it’s an attitude that ultimately Jean-Pierre and Eliane see themselves reflected in.
One of the last photos in the book is a portrait of the couple in 1966, soon after they arrived in the USA. “America was a totally different country, and these rebels changed the country for the better,” Eliane remembers. “Between the young people protesting the war, hippies with their music, women wanting more freedom and gangs in the ghetto creating hip hop music and fashion.
“And in many ways Jean-Pierre and I were also rebels,” she continues. “Jean-Pierre’s family wanted him to be a doctor, and my family wanted me to be a writer – we didn’t want any of that so we escaped to this country to find freedom. We were very lucky because in the ’60s and ’70s we did find that freedom.”
Rebels With A Cause by Jean-Pierre Laffont is published by Damiani Books.
Isaac Muk is Huck’s digital editor. Follow him on Bluesky.
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