Symposium
Photo Archives V: The Paradigm of Objectivity
Thursday, February 25, 2016
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Museum Lecture Hall, The Getty Center
Friday, February 26, 2016
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Robert C. Ritchie Auditorium, The Huntington
Study photographs of Johannes Vermeer’s
The Lacemaker
(ca. 1669). Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute,
76.P.60
Photographic reproductions of works of art and other research objects have long been considered neutral documents capable of supporting the research methodologies
of art history and related disciplines. The introduction of digital imaging saw the adoption of the same model, in that digital copies are presumed closer to the original photograph.
Today, the neutrality of photography has been deconstructed; nevertheless, the rhetoric of objectivity continues to shape the uses of analog and digital
photographs, which are deemed "evidence," even if one is aware of the possibility of technical manipulation. Similarly, there is little awareness that archives are far from neutral guardians of memory.
This symposium, which is part of the Photo Archives series, explores the relationship among photographic reproduction technologies, archival practices,
and concepts of objectivity, with an interdisciplinary outlook and a focus on art history.
**For more information and to reserve tickets, please
see attached flyer or visit:
http://www.getty.edu/research/exhibitions_events/events/photo_archives_objectivity.html
