Michael Pritchard's Posts (2976)
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Writing elsewhere Marcel Safier describes a project which he and Stefan Hughes have joined forces on. The intention is to produce a biography of the neglected but important figure in photograpic history, inventor of the successful collodion photographic process Frederick Scott Archer.
Marcel states: "We became acquainted through our mutual friend, Archer enthusiast and contemporary wet plate practitioner Sean McKenna. Already fresh and interesting material has come to light and it is our intention to chronicle as much of Archer's life as possible and to examine his significance to photography and look in detail at his family and circle of friends."
Stefan has created a website to support the project: http://www.frederickscottarcher.com/
Marcel also appeals for more information: "Some of you may have valuable information you wish to share such as an image, correspondence, a newspaper or journal article or details on one of his friends and collaborators(such as Peter Wickens Fry, Warren De La Rue etc.) I know speaking to one friend on this list that he had actually contemplated writing a book himself on Archer. We certainly want to know if someone else is contemplating that task. There is a forum on our site but we welcome direct email contact. I shall be in touch directly over coming months with those people I know personally on the list that might be able to assist is. Anyone who has suggestions for grant funding or publication of our book is also welcome to make contact."
The Photographers' Gallery, London, is to close this Autumn 2010 as construction starts on the transformation of the Gallery's building on Ramillies Street, London. The conversion by architects O'Donnell+ Tuomey will create:
- Three floors of galleries
- A floor dedicated to learning for all
- An improved Bookshop and Print Sales space
- A brand new street level Café/Bar
- An accessible building with a new lift
Although the building will be closed, the Gallery will continue to present projects, talks and events in Central London, as well as working with schools and young people. The Bookshop and Print Sales teams will continue to operate over this year.
For news and regular updates join our email newsletter, the Gallery can be followed on Facebook.To find out how you can support this ambitious project contact the Development Team on campaign@photonet.org.uk, +44 (0)20 7087 9340.
Click here for more: http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pid=411
The photo-historian Larry Schaaf writes in the The Magazine Antiques about the institutional collection and preservation of photographs within the context of the British Library and it's activities. The first paragraph is reproduced below. Click here for to see the full text (for free): http://www.themagazineantiques.com/articles/libraries-and-the-preservation-of-early-photography/
When photography was first announced to the public in 1839, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1781–1851) took the limelight. Daguerre’s process produced a singular photograph on a silvered sheet of copper, breathtaking in its detail and seductive in its beauty. But in the larger mainstream of communication, it was a dead end. Talbot’s productions on paper seemed coarse and cumbersome by comparison. Yet paper has traditionally been the basis of many reproductive arts and is especially the province of books, allowing Talbot’s approach into existing pathways. The Library of the British Museum (as it was then) was not the logical repository of works of art, a function served by the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert). Some photographs came in through the British Museum’s prints and drawings collection, others as part of donations of private libraries, but the truly stupendous numbers of photographs were collected contemporaneously as illustrations in books and portfolios. Since photomechanical processes were not perfected for most of the nineteenth century, many of these illustrations were original photographic prints. In many ways, we are fortunate that collections such as that of the British Library exist. They are fundamentally different from museum curated photographic collections though each has its strengths. Without this “accidental” collecting, many splendid images would either have been considered insignificant, or would not have fit the aesthetic of the moment and would have been lost to us.
http://www.themagazineantiques.com/articles/libraries-and-the-preservation-of-early-photography/
The British Library's most visited temporary exhibition during 2009-10 was Points of View which attracted 108,989 visitors and surpassed, by far, the Henry VIII exhibtion. Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs was the British Library’s first major photographic exhibition and examined the development and influence of photography from its invention in 1839 up to the growth of a popular amateur market in the early 20th century. It showed rarely displayed items from the collection and explored how photography had assumed a critical role as the primary means of visual expression. The show was curated by John Falconer.
BBC R4's Front Row radio programme will be discussing Birmingham's Ikon Gallery Harold Edgerton show as part of a wider debate about ground-breaking photography. The show begins at 7.15pm and will be available on the BBC's Listen Again feature for a week afterwards. Click here to listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/
A huge slice of Scottish photographic history has been uploaded onto the internet in a bid to share the nation’s history with the world. Over 2,000 previously archived pictures were posted onto Flickr by the National Library of Scotland. The formerly hidden treasures include the World War One photographs and an image of the chilling order for the massacre of Glencoe.
Library bosses decided to post the pictures online using Flickr’s Commons licence, meaning anybody can use them for non-commercial purposes. A further batch of 1,000 photographs will be added by the NLS before the end of the year.
Gill Hamilton, the NLS systems librarian, said: “This is a fantastic resource for the general public.
“There are no known copyright restrictions on Flickr’s The Commons photos, so everyone has access to use these images for non-commercial purposes.
“Flickr Commons is a great way for the National Library of Scotland to share its photographic collections with the world and we’re looking forward to adding to our Flickr Photostream throughout the coming year.”
Pictures of Scotland’s cities dating back to 1840 were posted on the site by the National Galleries of Scotland earlier this year.
Click here to see the Library's photo sets online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlscotland/
The National Media Museum/Getty Conservation Institute conference being held in October has published a short video explaining the purpose of the conference (click below to play). The video features Dusan Stulik talking about Niepce and the importance of his work within the conference context.
For more information about the conference click here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/niepce-in-england-conference
Can you demonstrate solid experience and achievements in raising funds from trusts, foundations and public bodies? Would you like to apply this within one of the world’s most prestigious museums? Our ability to meet our funding targets is critical to the delivery of world-class projects, exhibitions and visitor attractions. For this reason, we’re looking for a Senior Development Executive at The National Media Museum. With your experience in raising funds in the cultural sector, we will look to you to develop and manage a portfolio of key prospects and donors.
You will identify and research funding opportunities, then devise and implement cultivation strategies. Engaged and enthused by Museum plans and future projects, you will be able to communicate with clarity and accuracy;, passion and insight, building strong relationships internally and externally and a network of repeat-income sources. Experience in preparing fundraising applications, demonstrating fundraising success and bringing a strategic, professional approach to senior-level relationships is essential.
The Science Museum, The National Railway Museum and The National Media Museum form the unique NMSI family of museums. We aim to be the most admired museum in the world by engaging and inspiring diverse audiences, while at the same time rewarding and developing the people who contribute to our success.
For a full job description please email recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk or visit http://www.nrm.org.uk/AboutUs/Jobs.aspx
Interested? Please send your CV and covering letter by clicking the Apply button clearly stating which role you wish to apply for.
Closing date: 1st August 2010
We welcome applications from all sections of the community in which we work. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people and we guarantee interviews to suitably qualified disabled applicants.
A Freedom of Information request by JIm Bretell to the National Museum of Science and Industry has thrown light on the NMeM's plans for its London presence - although the NMSI declined to make available the 'substantial' documentation that the project has generated. In a token gesture it has published a partially redacted section of the NMSI Trustee minutes of 8 February 2008 these show:
- the aim of the London presence is to raise the national and international profile of the NMeM and to draw people to Bradford
- the space would be occupied by charging exhibitions with free entry to a media cafe. It would also act as a learning space
- the space could also be used to show photographic images from the National Railway Museum collection
- The funding plan would commence when at least 50 per cent was committed
The running cost and break-even number of visitors was dedacted.
The extract can be viewed here: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/38445/response/99877/attach/3/donotreply%20nmsi.ac.uk%2020100713%20164649.pdf
and details of the original request and MNSI covering letter here: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/national_media_museum_possible_l#incoming-99877
The National Portrait Gallery's Camille Silvy exhibition opens this week on 15 July. For any BPH readers in London the NPG bookshop is already selling curator Mark Haworth-Booth's book and catalogue of the show along with other relevant books, poster, cards and souvenirs. As one would expect the book is a fascinating read with well-reproduced illustrations and excellent value at £20 (hardback only). The exhibition space itself remains hidden behind locked doors...
Details of the exhibition and associated lectures and events can be found here: http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2010/camille-silvy1.php Most of the events are free but are likely to be popular and you are advised to turn up early to ensure a place.
Made at Lacock Abbey by William Henry Fox Talbot in August 1835, the world’s first photographic negative changed the world. A new exhibition, Celebrating the Negative launching on 3 July at the Fox Talbot Museum will display images by John Loengard, a highly acclaimed American photographer, who travelled the world during the 1990s visiting archives and photographers’ studios to see the original negatives of images that have changed photography and the world.
The images show the original negatives in the hands of the archivist or photographer which brings their scale into play and points up the fact that the negatives are objects as well as images.
The negative is not just another picture – it is THE picture. There is an intimate connection between the negative and the subject. Looking at a negative you are looking at an artefact of a time and place. The sun that shone on Abraham Lincoln on that day in 1863 was captured by that negative. All of the positive prints from that negative were made later, probably on a different day and by different sunlight and almost certainly not in the presence of Lincoln. Loengard says of Fox Talbot’s discovery: "It is a quirk of nature that silver and chlorine combine in the dark but separate when struck by light, leaving behind tiny, black, round particles of silver.
The 1st Negative
Talbot asked Lacock’s village carpenter to make up a few small wooden boxes to which he could insert his microscope lenses. These cameras, dubbed ‘Mousetraps’ by Talbot’s wife Constance, due to their size and shape, were the cameras through which he was finally able to capture an image.
On a sunny day in August, 1835 he aimed a mousetrap camera at the latticed window in the South Gallery of Lacock Abbey and in a few minutes he had made the world’s first photographic negative.
Three of the original ‘Mousetrap Cameras’ have been loaned to the museum by the National Media Museum. It is their first visit to their original home of Lacock Abbey in more than 75 years.
There will also be examples of the most important negative processes on display and an explanation of how they were made and how each was a technological advance in the history of photography. Roger Watson, curator of the Fox Talbot Museum says: "This is a really important and exciting celebration for us at Lacock. The negative is the primary image. It is the sensitive surface that faced the subject and first recorded the light. All positive prints are secondary images derived from the negative and are therefore one step removed from the original scene. The negative was the eye witness and the positive print the story related after the fact."
In August a recreation of the first photographic negative using Talbot’s original formula and methodology in a new mousetrap camera made by Mark Ellis, a carpenter who currently lives in Lacock will be re-enacted. Present at this re-enactment will be Talbot’s great-great granddaughter Janet Burnett Brown."
Participants at a (fully subscribed) workshop in August entitled ‘The Dawn of Photography’ will recreate all of Talbot’s earliest photographic experiments including working with modern replicas of the mousetrap camera. They will be working in and around Lacock Abbey and there will be staff members to answer questions about what they are doing.
Lacock Abbey
3 July-12 December 2010
Ikon presents Seeing the Unseen, a revisit of the gallery’s 1976 exhibition of high-speed photographs by the pioneering American scientist and photographer Dr Harold E. Edgerton (1906-1990). Forming part of Ikon’s retrospective of the 1970s It Could Happen To You, this presentation takes place in Birmingham’s Pallasades Shopping Centre, in a shop unit just a few doors away from Ikon’s home during that decade.
The 1976 exhibition formed Edgerton’s first solo presentation in Europe, and was conceived as a collaborative effort between Geoffrey Holt and John R. Myers, then both lecturers in fine art and photography at Stourbridge College of Art. Their aim was to draw attention to the breadth of work created by of ‘one of the masters of the optical unconscious’ which had, until that point, been largely neglected by the art world.
Edgerton’s invention in the 1930s of a high-speed photographic process based on rapid, stroboscopic instances of light or ‘flash’ was a catalytic event in the history of photography, science and art. Using this method, his images revealed in great detail aspects of reality hitherto invisible to the naked eye. As Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edgerton made great strides in reconnaissance photography during the Second World War and later became the first to photograph test explosions of atomic weaponry. It is, however, the hands-on experimentation of ‘real world’ phenomena for which he is best remembered.
Edgerton’s remarkable multiple-flash pictures of tennis players, golfers and divers such as Swirls and Eddies of a Tennis Stroke (1939) break down intricate movements into singular moments. Other images appear to stop time: Milk-Drop Coronet (1957) illustrates the perfect crown formed by a drop of milk hitting a hard surface, whilst Cutting the Card Quickly (1964) shows a .30 calibre bullet, travelling 2800 feet per second, slicing a king of diamonds into two pieces. The startling Bullet and Apple (1964) portrays the explosion of an apple pierced by the bullet, moments before its total disintegration.
Edgerton’s film Seeing the Unseen (1939) is shown alongside his photographs plus an archive of correspondence, technical papers and printed materials relating to the 1976 exhibition.
This exhibition is organised in collaboration with Birmingham Central Library.
21 July – 5 September 2010
Unit 39-40, The Pallasades Shopping Centre, Birmingham
Events
Stopping Time in Stourbridge
Sunday 8 August, 2pm – FREE
The Pallasades Shopping Centre
Pete James, Head of Photography, Central Library Birmingham talks about the Pallasades exhibition and the photo-historical context through which Ikon’s 1976 Harold E. Edgerton exhibition came about. Refreshments are provided. Places are free but should be reserved by calling Ikon on 0121 248 0708.
Aspects of Edgerton
Sunday 22 August, 2pm - FREE
The Pallasades Shopping Centre
An event with Jonathan Shaw, photographer and Associate Head of Media & Communication, Coventry University and artist Trevor Appleson. The speakers discuss the influence of Edwaerd Muybridge and Harold Edgerton’s photography on their recent work. Refreshments are provided. Places are free but should be reserved by calling Ikon on 0121 248 0708.
Photoworks, the UK’s leading agency for photography is seeking to appoint a new Director following the appointment of David Chandler as Professor of Photography at the University of Plymouth.
The new Director will provide artistic vision, leadership and ambition for the organisation, building on its outstanding achievements of the last decade and taking it forward into a new and exciting period of further development. This post demands exceptional leadership qualities and we are seeking a respected professional in the field of photography with a minimum of five years experience at a senior level in an arts or related organization. As well as proven management skills, you will have a thorough and authoritative knowledge of contemporary photographic practice and be able to demonstrate notable achievements in organisational development and growth. You will be a strong team player, with the ability to motivate and inspire colleagues, and the confidence to advocate and operate for Photoworks regionally, nationally and internationally across a broad network of artists, individuals, trusts and organisations.
Photoworks Director
application deadlne 20 July 2010
Director
c. £40K
Central Brighton Office
Email photoworksapplications@gmx.com for an application pack.
Deadline for applications: Tuesday 20 July 2010
Interviews: Tuesday 14 September 2010
Photoworks is committed to equal opportunities
Academic Assistant - Photographic Collection (1 year). The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London University of London http://jobs.ac.uk/job/ABH740/
The National Media Museum has released booking details of the Niépce in England conference which takes place at the museum on 14-15 October 2010. Details are given below...
NIÉPCE IN ENGLAND
Conference Update
An international conference on recent
advancements in scientific, art historical, and conservation research relating to the
photographs which Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
brought to England in 1827.
Co-organized by the National Media Museum
and the Getty Conservation Institute
13th - 14th October 2010
National Media Museum
Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Dear Colleague:
The National Media Museum (NMeM) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) are pleased to invite you to the Niépce in England conference, to be held at the National Media Museum, Bradford, United Kingdom on Wednesday and Thursday, October 13-14, 2010.
Conference Objective and Goals
Niépce in England
This two-day conference will present the results of new, unpublished research and scientific investigations, which have been undertaken during the NMeM and GCI Collaborative Research Project. In the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the National Media Museum are three plates by Niépce. The conference will address the research and conservation of these photographic treasures, and will discuss future conservation measures that would provide for their long-term protection and preservation. The reason why Niépce brought these plates to England, and their subsequent history, will also be outlined more fully than previously published.
Conference Themes and Speakers
Philippa Wright, Curator of Photographs, National Media Museum
Larry Schaaf, Independent Photo historian
Pamela Roberts, Independent Photo Historian
Grant Romer, Independent Photo Historian
Art Kaplan, Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute
Dr, Dusan Stulik, Senior Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute
Colin Harding, Curator of Photographic Technology, National Media Museum
Philip Gilhooley, Independent Fingerprint Consultant and Lecturer in Forensic Science, Liverpool John Moores University
Peter Bower, Forensic Paper Historian
Roy Flukinger, Senior Research Curator of Photography, Harry Ransom Centre, University of Texas
Barbara Brown, Head of Photograph Conservation, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas
Isabella Kocum, Frame Conservator, National Gallery
Susie Clark, Independent Photographic and Paper Conservator
• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and his work
• The first six photographs brought to England by Niépce in context
• Scientific investigation into the three Niépce photographs in The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the NMeM
• Dating and conservation of the original frames
• Conservation and preservation issues related to the Niépce plates
The full schedule and speaker biographies can be viewed at the museum website at http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Photography/niepceinengland.asp
Related Events
• Conference participants will have a very unique and unprecedented opportunity (that may not be repeated in our lifetime) to view all three Niépce plates ‘out of their frames’, enabling participants to closely examine the surfaces and reverse of these unique photographic treasures. The plates, and their conserved frames, will be on display throughout the conference in the Kraszna-Krausz Print Viewing Room, in the NMeM Research Centre.
• A Conference dinner will take place on Wednesday, October 13th, 7pm – 10pm at the National Media
Museum. Tickets for the dinner need to be purchased with your conference ticket at a cost of £22.
Registration
Formal registration for the Niépce in England conference is now open. Please note that attendance to the conference is limited. All registrations will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have already registered initial interest in the conference you are not guaranteed a place and will still need to ring and book your place.
For further enquiries regarding the conference please email rsvp.nmem@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk and we will respond to your enquiry accordingly
To book your conference ticket please call the museum box office on +44 (0) 870 70 10 200. Please note that tickets can not be purchased online.
Ticket costs
• Full price conference ticket £90
• Concession price conference ticket £70
• Wednesday evening dinner £22
Hotel accommodation
Overnight accommodation is available locally at the Bradford Jurys Inn Hotel.
The hotel is a two minute walk from the museum and rooms can be booked either online at: http://bradfordhotels.jurysinns.com/ or by calling +44 (0) 870 4100 800.
Rates range from £55 to £80 for a double room. Early booking is advisable.
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National Media Museum in Bradford opened as The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in 1983 and has since become one of the most visited UK museums outside London. The Museum is devoted to photography, film, television, radio and the web and looks after the National Photography, Photographic Technology and Cinematography Collections. The Museum is home to two temporary exhibition spaces and, a Research Centre that hosts regular displays from its extensive Collections. The Museum’s vibrant programme reflects all aspects of historical and contemporary media practice and issues.
www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
The Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to advance conservation practice in the visual arts—broadly interpreted to include objects, collections, architecture, and sites. The Institute serves the conservation community through scientific research, education and training, model field projects, and the dissemination of the results of both its own work and the work of others in the field. In all its endeavors, the GCI focuses on the creation and delivery of knowledge that will benefit the professionals and organizations responsible for the conservation of the world’s cultural heritage.
This conference is kindly supported by a number of organisations & private individuals, including:
The Royal Photographic Society,
Wilson Centre for Photography,
The University of Bolton
The National Gallery, London
A Freedom of Information request to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that the National Media Museum still sees the Science Museum as the base for its London Presence. The DCMS also confirmed:
- That it had held no meetings the National Media Museum over its plans for a London Presence between 1 September 2009 and 3 June 2010
- The Project is expected to cost less than £5 million and therefore does not require any approval from the DCMS
- The NMSI, the NMeM's parent body, will have full responsibility for funding the Project.
The NMSI, in common with all national museums receiving direct grant-aid from DCMS, is expected to a reduction in its grant as the government starts to rein in public spending. The NMSI will make a decision regarding the Project in the context of a reduced grant and it is this that will ultimately determine whether the Project progresses or not.
Camille Silvy was a pioneer of early photography and one of the greatest French photographers of the nineteenth century. This exhibition includes many remarkable images which have not been exhibited since the 1860s.
Over 100 works, including a large number of carte de visites, focus on a ten-year creative burst from 1857-67 working in Algiers, rural France, Paris and London and illustrate how Silvy pioneered many now familiar branches of the medium including theatre, fashion and street photography.
Working under the patronage of Queen Victoria, Silvy photographed royalty, aristocrats and celebrities. He also portrayed uncelebrated people, the professional classes and country gentry, their wives, children and servants.
The results offer a unique glimpse into nineteenth-century society through the eyes of one of photography's outstanding innovators.
The exhibition has been curated by Mark Haworth-Booth.
There are a series of lectures and events around the exhibitions - details here: http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/camille-silvy-photographer-of-modern-life-1834-1910.php
National Portrait Gallery - 15 July-24 October 2010
Tickets £5/£4.50/£4
To book advance tickets call 020 7907 7079 (transaction fee applies)
Exhibition organised by the Jeu de Paume, Paris, in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, London
