Researching Color Photography in the 19th & early 20th Century Today: Reflections on History, Science, and Materiality
Presenters: Janine Freeston + Dr. Hanin Hannouch
Please refer to the resource section for reading material.
The co-conveners of this working group Janine Freeston and Dr. Hanin Hannouch introduce color photography circa 1900 as a nascent field of inquiry. Moreover, they will present key research questions about it and avenues to consider when delving into the numerous technologies which the term “color photography” encompasses, as well as the historical complexity out of which these processes emerged. They will also address the interrelatedness of color photographies and other media that were necessary to the creation and dissemination of knowledge about them during European imperialism.
For example, can we really speak of “the first” color photograph and how is this fraught notion entangled with imperialism? How does the lack of chemical uniformity challenge the international history of certain color processes? How to formalize the relationship between color photography and other scientific disciplines and practices such as anthropology, spectrography, medicine etc.? How to integrate the research of scientists in the “Global South” about color photography, as well as the position of women and other marginalized groups? What role do the technical objects of color photography play in museum collections and in broadening the history of the medium?
Target audience: Newcomers to the research on color photography circa 1900, PhD students, curators, conservators, established researchers.