HomeParis − urban, institutional, and artistic center of photography
Paris − urban, institutional, and artistic center of photography
Paris − haut-lieu urbain, institutionnel et artistique de la photographie
Published on Monday, February 13, 2017
Abstract
International Workshop for junior researchers in the History and Theory of Photography. This five-day workshop, which combines the presentation and discussion of individual research projects with conferences and visits to archives and collections, reflects on the multiple interrelations between photography (or: ‘photo-like’ images) and the city of Paris, the latter being understood as a concrete urban space as well as a place of myth and a stage for sociocultural activity on which photographers, critics, commissioners, and institutions interact.
Announcement
Presentation
Paris, July 03-07, 2017
This five-day workshop, which combines the presentation and discussion of individual research projects with conferences and visits to archives and collections, reflects on the multiple interrelations between photography (or: ‘photo-like’ images) and the city of Paris, the latter being understood as a concrete urban space as well as a place of myth and a stage for sociocultural activity on which photographers, critics, commissioners, and institutions interact.
The workshop will offer participants the opportunity to discuss commonplaces and gaps in research and to question the formation of existing corpora of images and scholarly literature. 16 junior researchers (PhD candidates, master students, and in exceptional cases post-doctoral scholars) from France, Germany, the Benelux and other countries are invited to reflect not only on well-known facets of Paris, but also pay attention to marginalized images, aspects and agents of the history of photography. A sharpened awareness of discursive mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion in the visual history of Paris still remains a desideratum. If the French writer Georges Perec stated in 1975 in his Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris that a “great number, if not the majority”, of Parisian views have already been “described, inventoried, photographed, talked about, or registered” and that his “intention […] was to describe the rest instead” – how can such a rest be found? How can we devise a different visual history of Paris and photography, and to what extent do archives give us the possibility (or not) to do so? Which options do photographers and historians have to uncover the margins of established narratives?
François Arago’s presentation of the technique of the daguerreotype to members of the Académie des Sciences in Paris is often considered as a kind of official starting point in the history of photography. The importance of the French capital for photography is visible today on many levels: first, via the number of publications and exhibitions devoted explicitly to photographs of and to practitioners from Paris (recently, the exhibition Qui a peur des femmes photographes? at the Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay in Paris emphasized the actual importance of woman photographers both internationally and locally). Secondly, with regards to the biographic background of some major French and non-French actors in the field, whose paths have crossed for instance during the interwar period in Paris, as was the case with Florence Henri, Brassaï, Gisèle Freund, Adrienne Monnier, Charles Rado and Christian Zervos, or, after World War II, with Louis Stettner, Iziz, Ata Kandó and Ed van der Elsken. Thirdly, we can find countless reproductions of photographs of Paris, its architecture and its social space, all of which are intended to capture a different aspect of the city. And finally, some important institutions like the photo agencies Roger-Viollet and Magnum or the Maison Européenne de la Photographie and the festival Paris Photo have been installed and established in the city.
Organized by the German Center for Art History (Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte – DFK Paris), in cooperation with the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense and the Universiteit Leiden, funded by the Deutsch-Französische Hochschule Saarbrücken (www.dfh-ufa.org).
Research topics
Successful applicants should ideally work on a research project that deals with issues related to the workshop: they can either reflect on the close-knit socio-cultural, historical and artistic interrelations between (greater) Paris and photography or scrutinize the integrity of given narratives by focusing on the margins of the city and/or the medium of photography.
How to apply
Deadline: February 24, 2017
Please send your application to:
- Astrid Köhler akoehler@dfk-paris.org
- Ulrike Blumenthal ublumenthal@dfk-paris.org
Complete with :
- covering letter
- short project description of 1-2 pages
- resume (preferably accompanied by language certificates)
- (if applicable) request for financial support
For further information, please contact Ulrike Blumenthal and Astrid Köhler.
All participants are expected to give a short presentation of their work (15 minutes) and to be present during the whole workshop. Participants should be able to actively follow discussions in French, German and English, as conferences and visits to archives will be in either of these languages.
Scientific committee
- Ulrike Blumenthal
- Julia Drost and Astrid Köhler (DFK Paris)
- Christian Joschke (Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense)
- Helen Westgeest (Universiteit Leiden)
Grant
Thanks to the financial support from the Deutsch-Französische Hochschule, students who do not receive any academic funding or who have a part-time contract (i.e. a 50% position) can apply for a grant: expenses for travelling can be reimbursed up to an amount of 100 euros, and lodging costs up to 300 euros. The demand for this grant is to be made with the application by using a special form: https://cloud.dfkg.org/index.php/s/ENy73h4l2iRGfKs. Late requests will unfortunately not be taken into account. Supporting documents, such as bills and tickets, will be required as originals after the workshop. Reimbursement is only possible afterwards.
Subjects
- Urban studies (Main category)
- Mind and language > Representation > Cultural history
- Zones and regions > Europe > France > Paris and suburbs
- Mind and language > Representation > History of art
- Society > History > Urban history
- Periods > Modern
Places
- Paris, France (75001)
Date(s)
- Friday, February 24, 2017
Keywords
- Paris, le photographique et l'espace urbain, histoire de l'urbanisation de Paris, atelier de recherche international
Contact(s)
- Astrid Koehler
courriel : akoehler [at] dfk-paris [dot] org - Ulrike Blumenthal
courriel : ublumenthal [at] dfk-paris [dot] org
Reference Urls
Information source
- Astrid Koehler
courriel : akoehler [at] dfk-paris [dot] org
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Paris − urban, institutional, and artistic center of photography », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, February 13, 2017, https://doi.org/10.58079/wwe
