Blogs

DalkeithPhoto is an exciting new exhibition running at Dalkeith Palace from 8 September-6 October 2024. Featuring an exhibition of The Buccleuch Family Album Collection (first showing), work by Calum Colvin and RPS touring exhibition ~ Squaring the Circles on Neo Pictorialism ~ including Céline Bodin, Susan Derges, Joy Gregory, Takashi Arai, David and Angela Chalmers, Spencer Rowell, Tom Hunter, Ian Phillips McLaren and David George.

As part of this an impressive cast of expert speakers will be celebrating and exploring DalkeithPhoto, Neo Pictorialism and much more through presentations and conversation on Saturday, 7 September 2024. This symposium is a must for anyone interested in contemporary and historic photography.

With an introduction from Zelda Cheatle, photographer, curator and author and keynote speaker Sara Stevenson and talks from artists exhibiting in the accompanying exhibition Squaring the Circles: , the full symposium programme follows below.

Changing Ideals in Pictorial Photography. Pictorialism and the Royal Photographic Society. Michael Pritchard, Photo historian, Consultant

Constructed Photography. Exhibiting Scottish artist Calum Colvin in conversation with Squaring the Circle artists Tom Hunter and Spencer Rowell.

Cameraless Imagery and Early Printing Techniques. Artist Alex Hamilton in conversation with artists Susan Derges, Angela Chalmers and Joy Gregory.

Scottish Archives, Photographic Albums, Aristocracy and Collections. A conversation with Walter Dalkeith, Luke Gartlan and Alex Lindsay.

Keynote lecture: The Two-way Gaze: Scotland and the Invention of Social Documentary Photography. Sara Stevenson, photographic historian, writer and expert on early Scottish photography.

The Art and Application of the Daguerreotype.Takashi Arai, artist.

Tour of the Exhibition, the Interaction of Painting & Photography, Pictorialism and Neo Pictorialism with exhibiting Squaring the Circles artists Tom Hunter, David George and Celine Bodin.

Tickets are available priced £55pp. Tickets include refreshments and a light lunch.

Book here: https://www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/event/dalkeithphoto-symposium/

Details of Dalkeith Photo2024 are here: https://www.dalkeithcountrypark.co.uk/event/dalkeithphoto/

This Sunday I will be at iHeartWhitstable, Umbrella Centre, Whitstable, Kent with cyanotype photographs and photograms.

Updates at www.Instagram.com/ajphotoinfo.

Historic England’s Archive and Library is the nation’s archive of England’s historic environment. It is a national collection with nearly 15 million items, mostly photography and documents. including nationally important collections covering archaeology, architecture, social and local history.  It is an accredited Archive and a recognised place of deposit. The collection continues to grow for now, and for the future.

We have an important role in telling the story of England; its shared memories, lived histories and diverse cultural identities. We conserve, save and safeguard, as well as share, collect and generate income.

As Head of Archive & Library, you will lead and manage a specialist team. You will be responsible for shaping the way we collect, manage, conserve and make available archive assets in line with Historic England’s strategic objectives and priorities. You will ensure that we share our collections – both physical and digital - in accessible, inspiring and engaging ways and that our collections are increasingly inclusive and representative. You will be responsible for development of the growing archive of born digital material, working with the Head of Digital Engagement to develop an integrated ecosystem that ensures our collections are held in the most cost-effective way and accessible to the widest possible audience.

Details here: Head of Archive and Library - Historic England - Applied (beapplied.com) 

The Science Museum Group has published its 2022-23 accounts and performance metrics. Of particular note are those relating to the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford.  The headline number relates to visitor which have yet to rebound across the SMG. Those for the NSMM are at 187,000 for 2022-23 compared with 421,00 pre-pandemic. 

The SMG has set a target of a return to the pre-pandemic numbers although the NSMM will be impacted by the closure of the museum pending the opening of the Sound and Vision Galleries in 2024.

The full report can be seen here

The University of Manchester's Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine has relaunched its seminar programme which will be both live and online via Zoom. On 22 November Dr Alexander Medcalf will look at the World Helath Organisation's photography archive. As the quote in the title suggests, over almost half a century the WHO invested heavily in procuring photographic material and showcasing it in magazines, newspapers and at exhibitions around the world.

Dr Alexander Medcalf, Department of History, University of York
22 November 2022 at 1600 (GMT)
"The most extensive photographic collection in the world": seeing health "through the eyes" of the WHO, 1948-1990  
Abstract and further details
Register for free: https://blogs.manchester.ac.uk/chstm/2022/10/01/chstm-research-seminar-22-november-2022/

Light Years is a special four-part exhibition series in celebration of The Photographers' Gallery's 50th anniversary.  Arranged around four thematic displays each ‘chapter’ draws on rarely seen materials from the Gallery’s archive to explore key moments or movements in both the Gallery’s history and the photography landscape more widely. 

The Photographers’ Gallery was founded in London’s Covent Garden in 1971 by Sue Davies, OBE, as the first publicly funded gallery in the UK dedicated to the exhibition, exploration, education and development of the photographic medium.  From the outset it has been instrumental in promoting photography’s value to the wider world and ensuring its position as one of our most significant artforms. 

Curated by writer, researcher, academic and broadcaster, David Brittain, Light Years draws on the Gallery’s rich exhibition programme and reflects on its legacy as an influential educational resource.

Theme 1: ‘Photojournalism: a worthy art for a new gallery’
(June – August 2021)

Theme 2: ‘Fashion and Advertising: Anti-elitist art photography’
(August – October 2021)

Theme 3: ‘Beyond documentary: from photography to photographies’
(October – December 2021)

Theme 4: The Archive: Collectors, critics and subversives
(December 2021 – February 2022)

See more here: https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/light-years-photographers-gallery-50?mc_cid=6a77b63ff5&mc_eid=355dc0ec8f

When Anna Bertha Röntgen first glanced at the radiographic picture of her hand she is supposed to have said “I have seen my death!” and refused to take part in any similar experiments. In a brief time however, this new way of seeing the body forever altered the landscape of both popular culture and the visual arts.

This talk explores how X-rays and other medical imaging techniques have had their diagnostic capacity repurposed and subverted, becoming an integral part of experimental artistic practices. It follows a historical trajectory, from the early works of the avant-garde to contemporary interdisciplinary projects and artist residences within imaging facilities. It discusses the interactions between artists and medical practitioners, as well as its impact on viewers of the general public: what changed from the time Mikhail Larionov and Francis Picabia were engaging in explorations of the radiographic gaze? How is the meeting point of art, medical science and technology framed in the works of contemporary artists such as Matthew Cox, Mona Hatoum and Paulina Siniatkina? The talk will also highlight lesser known creations and initiatives from the former Eastern bloc, highlighting X-ray depictions and the medical gaze as part of the state apparatus, through the works of artists such as A.I. Kurnakov, Morozov Anatoly Alekseevich, Obrosov Igor Pavlovich and Levichev Yuri Ivanovich.

Looking Inwards: The Role of Medical Imaging Technology in 20th and 21st Century Visual Art

Tuesday 16 March  1-2pm (UK time) on Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/91441604082

Meeting ID: 914 4160 4082

Passcode: 195522

See: https://chstmphdblog.wordpress.com/lunchtime-seminars/

Over the last fifteen years, Nicky Bird has examined the themes of land, heritage, personal and social memory through a collaborative photographic practice. This show includes new works and brings together several of her site-specific projects for the first time, especially reimagined for Street Level, which largely focus on Scotland’s rural and small town communities.

She considers contemporary relevances of ‘found’ photographs and latent histories of specific sites, investigating how they remain resonant. Her work incorporates new photography, oral histories and collaborations with people who have significant connections to the original site and its photographic archive. Alongside commissioned projects, she has exhibited nationally and internationally, published essays on themes of erased place and digital exchange of photographs. Nicky is a Reader in Contemporary Photographic Practice at The Glasgow School of Art.

Legacy - Nicky Bird
27th April - 6th June 2021
http://www.streetlevelphotoworks.org/event/legacy-nicky-bird

An exhibition minigraph includes an in conversation between the artist and Annebella Pollen

To mark the 120th anniversary of Kingston-born photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s death, this new exhibition presents a magnificent panorama of San Francisco that Muybridge photographed in 1878.The panorama is over five metres, and is one of the highlights of Kingston Museum’s world-class Muybridge collection.

The exhibition also features three modern panoramas of the city by American photographer Mark Klett, British artists Tom Pope and James Doyle, and American historian Nick Wright. It also displays different scenes of Kingston from the nineteenth century to the present day.

San Francisco in Kingston: Muybridge and Panoramas
10 May-2 November 2024
Thursday-Saturday, 1000-1700. Admission free 
Kingston Museum
https://www.kingstonheritage.org.uk/

Photography permeates every aspect of contemporary life, serving as a tool for visual communication, personal expression, artistic creation, documentation, social engagement, and civic action. In the twenty-first century, the traditional distinctions between high and low art, as well as between art and applied practices, and among different lens-based media have become blurred over time, rendering previous museum taxonomies obsolete and posing practical challenges for professionals.

This inaugural agenda-setting workshop seeks to foster dialogue among international scholars, curators, artists, photographers, museum professionals, and archivists regarding various definitions and understandings of "photography" and its cultural significance within and beyond museum settings. Featuring presentations by invited speakers, a roundtable discussion, and breakout sessions, the workshop aims to explore diverse institutional perspectives, policies, practices, and challenges related to the collection, exhibition, and interpretation of photographic images. Insights and feedback collected from participants will shape the framework and topics of subsequent workshops.

Workshop 1:  Museum Dialogues: Definitions and problems

Confirmed Speakers include:

Prof. Anna Fox, Photographer and Director of Fast Forward: Women in Photography, UK
Dr. Iro Katsaridou, Director of MOMus –Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece;

Dr. Katrina Sluis, Associate Professor and Head of Photography and Media Arts, Australia National University, and artist;

Liz Wewiora, Founder of Socially Engaged Photography Network (SEPN) and Head of Social Practice at Open Eye Gallery, UK and artist. 

Budi N.D. Dharmawan, Independent Photographer and Writer, Indonesia.

Museum Dialogues is a project co-ordinated by the Northern Centre of Photography at University of Sunderland, UK, with key partners MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece and MuFoCo – Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea in Cinisello Balsamo, Italy. Museum Dialogues is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Research Networking scheme.

This 12-month research network aspires to transcend the disciplinary boundaries of art history, visual culture, photography, new media, museum and curating studies and bridge theory and practice. It seeks to unite scholars, archivists, curators, museum workers, and artists from across the globe with a view to developing a comprehensive understanding and exchange of innovative solutions, inquiries, and practical challenges relating to the exhibition, collection and interpretation of photography.

Workshop 1 (online): Problems and Definitions - REGISTRATION NOW OPEN HERE

Friday 22 March 2024, 9:30 - 16:00 GMT

Workshop 2 (online): Building Photography Collections for the Future 

Friday 24 May 2024, 9:30 - 16:00 BST 

Workshop 3 (online): Rethinking Programming: Interpretation and Experience, Inclusion and Equity

Friday 12 July 2024, 9:30 - 16.00 BST

Three-day hybrid international conference: Re-evaluating the Past, Capturing the Present, Anticipating the Future 

Friday 22, Saturday 23, Sunday 24 November 2024 (Sunderland and Online).CALL FOR PAPERS HERE

There was an unusual sense of urgency in the telephone ringing as we tumbled into the house. What we saw at the theatre that evening has long since gone into obscurity, while the content of that telephone call will remain in my mind forever.

It all began in November 1989 when I interviewed Stefan Lorant at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television at Bradford. It was his first visit to England for over fifty years. I had met Lorant the previous day, interviewing him for about one and a half hours. He asked me to send him a copy of my article that was being written for the British Journal of Photography. This I did after Christmas and promptly forgot about this intriguing episode.

Life moved on. It was mid-March and we had just returned home from an evening at the local theatre when the telephone rang. A mid-European voice, immediately recognisable, introduced itself as ‘Stefan Lorant from America’. ‘I like what you write. It was good. It cheered me up. But I am not egotistical!’ The fact that he was egotistical was both evident and obvious and was to become more so as the days passed. We talked and he said he would like me to see his archive in Lenox, Massachusetts and continue our conversation. He saw it as a time to get the story correct, not just for himself but for his friends who were now all deceased. ‘If I send you the ticket, will you come?’ Answering in a dazed affirmative I wished him ‘good night’. Had I really given the impression this was another everyday event? Regaling the story to colleagues, family and friends, all agreed that this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Further telephone calls and the arrival of that essential airline ticket now saw me on Virgin Atlantic Flight 001 out of London, Heathrow bound for Newark, New Jersey.

This was pure theatre!! The overture had only just faded away and there was a nervous ‘first night’ anticipation with the curtain about to go up…. There was never a dull moment. This book are the edited diaries from 1990 to 1999.

Never a dull moment
Michael Hallett
CrabApple Publications, 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-3999-4566-0.
Softback. 344 pages, £22 plus postage & packaging.
Available from http://www.michaelhallett.com

I an trying to find information/contact details for these photographers:

Alan Richards

John Stonex

Michael Taylor

Peter Wilkinson

D Baxter

Edward Pritchard

Ron Chapman

Tony Morris

Dunstan Pereira

Malcolm Aird

Fill Bullock

David Gaynor

Any information gratefully received. 

India will have its first memorial to Joseph Nicéphore Niépce on 5 July, the 188th anniversary of his death.  Renowned painter and sculptor Mr. Sunil Kumar from Trivandrum is the creator of the statue. The memorial is being built by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce Foundation, Mavelikkara, and will be located in Mavelikkara, Kerala. 

Foundation bearers are the following: Patron – A P Joy (Managing Editor, Fotowide Photography Magazine), Chairman - Saji Ennakkad (writer, photographer and photography historian), Vice Chairperson - Dr. Bindu D Sanil (writer and professor), Secretary – T L John (painter and photographer), and Treasurer - Anil Ananthapuri (professor). The memorial is set to be dedicated on his next birth anniversary.

This is the first memorial dedicated for the inventor of photography in India.

This review in the current issue of Race & Class (62:4), published by Sage on behalf of the Institute of Race Relations draws a straight line from social and political PROTEST in the 1970s, to today:

'Stacey has written a rare and important book which integrates word, image, artistry and activism in the real lives of working people and those who documented their lives and struggles, and although it records events and initiatives nearly half a century ago, its relevance to now-times is total.'

Read the review here

This week sees the 75th Anniversary of VE, so I thought I would just post this picture called “ V-E Night Impression” which was taken by my Grandfather in a West End pub on VE night. The picture was subsequently displayed at The London Salon.

In his notes, he writes :- “ Created by ‘time and flash’ exposure. The camera held in one hand with the shutter momentarily in the ‘open’ position. Small aperture (F 12.5) used. Flash bulb triggered off with the other hand. Thus a sharp image has been superimposed over a ‘blurred’ one, producing an impressionistic view, which appears to have captured the mood of the moment”

Chris Chapman was born in Wigan, Lancashire in 1952. He began his photographic career at the Newport College of Art in South Wales where he was invited to join the Documentary Photography Course run by the Magnum photographer, David Hurn.

In 1975 he moved to Dartmoor, since when he has documented aspects of Dartmoor life. His photographs reflect traditional skills inherent in the indigenous population and emphasise the accumulation of knowledge associated with age and customs. He has a large archive depicting the culture and character of the region. He was a friend and collaborator with James Ravilious.

His photography has been widely recognised and is represented in both public and private collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Arts Council of England and the International Center of Photography in New York. His work has been published under various titles, including The Right Side of the Hedge (David & Charles), Dartmoor: The Threatened Wilderness (Channel 4) and Wild Goose and Riddon.

The Dartmoor Photographs of Chris Chapman now make the most integral element of his work accessible to the public in one place in this free exhibition and the aim of this project is to expand the collection as time progresses.

A short presentation by Chris about his photography is free to view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJL_Kk4_cHw&t

The Dartmoor Photographs of Chris Chapman
Permanent display, but check for opening days and times
Providence Methodist Chapel, Throwleigh, Dartmoor EX20 2HZ
See: https://thedartmoorphotographs.com

Chris's website is here: https://www.chrischapmanphotography.co.uk/

As early as October 1859, William Crookes, one of the editors of the Photographic News, mentioned the possibility of using magnesium to produce an artificial burst of light to illuminate a scene for photography. Flash photography became one of the most spectacular technical manifestations of commercial photography within a few years of its invention. Thanks to the most recent camera sensors (specifically the SPAD type), scenes can now be recorded with a minimum of 0.001 lux without any artificial light. Like film, flash could well eventually become a somewhat distant memory in a new technological ecosystem that both digitally alters and expands what is visible and recordable. It is therefore particularly timely to reopen this case in order to carry out an archeology of flash free of purely technicist narratives.

The history of photography might easily be reduced to a rather narrow narrative of successive technological advancements that ultimately lead to its triumph over darkness. It is the aim of this conference to steer clear of such teleological readings in order to better understand the flash – a sudden emission of artificial light caused by a variety of technical means (from magnesium to the electric stroboscope via flash bulbs), in contrast to more permanent artificial light – not only as a technique, but as a connecting point between different ways to investigate the history of photography.

Proposals may explore, but are not limited to:

• the spaces of flash (physical and/or social)

• the temporalities of flash (instantaneity, arrest)

• flash as an event and a narrative

• the archeology of flash (the use and etymology of words used to refer to artificial light; the dissemination of the flash among amateurs via photography manuals; its degree of use)

• flash as sign, format, and aesthetic

• flash as photographic metaphor and metaphor of photography

• the visualities of flash and constructions of class, race, and gender

Conference details

The conference will take place in Paris, 17-18 October 2024 (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Richelieu). We will be able to help towards travel expenses for doctoral students and young researchers. To apply for these stipends, simply indicate in your email to the organisers that you wish to be considered and state the country you will be travelling from.

The conference will be followed by the publication of selected papers in the Photographica journal in 2025.

Submission

Proposals for papers should include author name and affiliation, 300–400 word abstract, and a short CV. We invite proposals from scholars at all levels from early career onwards. Papers will be selected on the quality of the proposal and with the aim of ensuring a broad spread of topics for the conference.Conference presentations will be 20 minutes.

Proposal should be sent to flashconf2024@gmail.com by the deadline of May 5, 2024. They will be reviewed by the scientific committee.

See the full call: https://journals.openedition.org/photographica/1667

Helmut Newton (1920-2004) was one of the most singular and successful photographers of his generation, known for his provocative fusion of fashion, portrait, and erotic subjects. Philippe Garner, a 50-plus years veteran of the art auction world, has admired Newton’s work since he discovered it in the late sixties.

He met Newton in 1975 and enjoyed his friendship until the photographer’s death in 2004. Now Vice-President of the Helmut Newton Foundation, he looks back on Newton’s life and work.

Helmut Newton: Living to make pictures. In conversation with Philippe Garner
Tuesday 12 July, 6.30 pm BST
Online: https://benuri.org/whats-on/

Forum Auctions, London, is offering a copy of John Thomson's Illustrations of China and its People which dates from 1873-74. The volumes include 96 photographic plates. The lot is estimated at £15,000-20,000. 

If you're interested check out the lot here. 

UPDATED: The lot sold for £16,000 plus buyer's premium. 

This year marks the centenary of Thomson's death and later this week a plaque will be unveiled at his childhood in Edinburgh. Thomson was an alumnus of Heriot Watt's predecessor body and an exhibition of his photography opens at Heriot-Watt's Riccarton campus until 22 March 2022.

See:https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/is/heritage/china-through-the-lens-of-john-thomson.htm

It is my absolute pleasure to announce that from the 24 April (yes I know it is May please don’t judge me) to 19 June 2021 Llantarnam Grange will be hosting Phrame Wales newest exhibition Ode To Anna.

Ode to Anna is a celebration of the legacy of Anna Atkins, one of the first female photographers and champion of the Cyanotype process. This show exhibits work by members of Phrame that has either been inspired by Atkins or draws attention to her innovation and the themes surrounding her images. Ode to Anna not only highlights the lasting impression she has made on the photographic world and its history but showcases a range of photographic processes being practiced within South Wales today.⁠

Artists : Molly Caenwyn, Savanna Dumelow, Faye L-Griffiths, Sharon Magill, Kate Mercer, Jane Nesbitt, Tess Emily Seymour, Catherine Yemm & Patricia Ziad

Llantarnam Grange is open Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 – 3:30 (Free admission).
Currently visitors are limited to 6 people in any room at any one time.
Face masks are a requirement.