[Commlist] CFP: Darkrooms and Representations: Histories of Photography, Film and Exploration Conference.

*CFP: Darkrooms and Representations: Histories of Photography, Film and 
Exploration Conference.*

2^nd - 3^rd April 2020. National Maritime Museum, Royal Museums 
Greenwich, UK.

*Keynote Speakers:* Geir Kløver (Director, The Fram Museum), Dr Lawrence 
Napper (Senior Lecturer, King’s College London), Bryony Dixon (Curator 
of Silent Film, British Film Institute).

*Call for Papers: *The role of photography and film has often been 
relegated to that of illustration, yet its uses - as a visual record, in 
scientific research, education and travelogues – have been varied and at 
times ingenious. From experimentation with technologies in extreme 
environments (telephoto lenses, glass plate negatives, flashlight 
photography, chrono-photography, photomicrography, cinematography) to 
the practices that have emerged through ethnographic studies, 
meteorology, astronomy, oceanology, cartography and the documentation of 
wildlife, the mediation of photography and film has made otherwise 
inaccessible geographies visible. Yet, this ‘window’ on to the world is 
constructed, it is made using materials and techniques which tell a 
story: from a physical trace of the environment to a record of 
scientific and cultural practices. This interdisciplinary conference 
examines the history of explorationthrough film, photography and 
photographers, scientific techniques, artistic practices and in the 
mediation and display of museum collections for exhibition: from 
photographic materials and technologies to the darkroom practices that 
shape visual representations and underpin or counter voyage narratives.

Papers are sought on the histories, theories and philosophies of 
photography, film and audio-visual forms which intersect with narratives 
of exploration: its politics, ideologies (gender, class, imperialism) 
their subversion and subtexts through to its use in educational and 
entertainment forms both past and present. *Topics might include, but 
are not limited to:*

·experiments and innovations in technology and representation

·analogue formats and their digital simulacra

·black and white/ colour photography

·editing techniques (superimposition, masking, colouring images, digital 
media)

·photography, film and art in the social and cultural practices of 
expeditions

·the work of amateur and professional photographers

·photography and film as evidence, its authenticity and/or manipulation

·material records: can scratches, distortions, detritus be read as a 
record of the making, use and storage of images?

·historical, political and cultural uses of expedition photography and film

·historiography: photographs as illustration and/or counterpoint to 
official narratives

·magic lantern slide lectures (scripts, images, performance)

·photojournalism; postcards, tourism, mementos, portrait and/or memorial 
photographs

·the curation of photographic exhibitions, film programmes and archives

·documentary and fiction films; the fantastic in nonfiction film

·photography and film in the temporality and narratives of the Anthropocene

There is a history of the materials, technologies and practices that lie 
beneath the surface of each image and its making. For an account of how 
cameras and photographic materials should work, we can consult technical 
handbooks. However, in extreme environments - characterised by excessive 
temperatures, humidity, light and darkness - such technologies sometimes 
stop working and require the practical and innovative adaptations of 
explorers, researchers and artists. This call for papers welcomes 
presentations from scholars, curators and collection managers alongside 
scientific researchers and artists who have worked on Antarctic and 
Arctic Residences, wildlife, documentary filmmakers and archivists who 
engage with the questions of controlled storage environments, researcher 
access, the exhibition of materials and the making of their digital 
simulacra.

*Deadline for submissions: 4^th October 2019.* Abstracts (c.250words) 
and a short biographical note (c.150words) can be sent to Dr Liz Watkins 
((e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk) <mailto:(e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk)>) no later than 
4^th October 2019.

*Accepted papers will be notified by 1^st November 2019.* If you have 
any questions about the conference please contact 
(e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk) <mailto:(e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk)>and Lizelle de 
Jager (ldejager /at/ rmg.co.uk) <mailto:(ldejager /at/ rmg.co.uk)>

Dr Elizabeth Watkins, University of Leeds. *Contact:* 
(e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk) <mailto:(e.i.watkins /at/ leeds.ac.uk)>
Sackler Research Fellow, National Maritime Museum (Greenwich).

*British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies [BAFTSS]:*  
Colour and Film Special Interest Group 
https://colourandfilm.com/notesoncolour/
*Editorial Board:* Open Screens Journal https://openscreensjournal.com

*Recent Publications: *
‘Threads of Colour and Meaning in the Film Works of Nicolas Roeg and 
Anthony Richmond’ (July 2018) 
https://eastmancolor.info/2018/07/25/threads-of-colour-and-meaning-in-the-film-work-of-nicolas-roeg-and-anthony-richmond/
'Liminal Perceptions: Intermediality and the Exhibition of Non-fiction 
Film’, The Colour Fantastic, Chromatic Worlds of Silent Cinema (AUP, 
2018), pp.51-73.
‘Mapping the Antarctic: Photography, Colour and the Scientific 
Expedition in Popular Exhibition’, Progress in Colour Studies (2018) 
pp.439-459.
*Books: *
Gesture and Film: Signalling New Critical Perspectives (Routledge, 2017).


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------