32698 - History, Conservation and Cataloguing of Photography and Audiovisuals

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student :

has a thorough knowledge of the history of photography and audio-visuals, cataloguing techniques and related methodologies, also in relation to new digital technologies;

knows the main critical and theoretical aspects of the history of photography, in particular the tools for documentation and study of cultural heritage;

will be able to apply this knowledge to documenting cultural heritage

Course contents

The course will deal with the history, conservation and cataloging of photography starting from the theme of the photographic archive,  as a place of knowledge and memory and functional to the practices of sedimentation and patrimonialization of photographic material.


The first part of the course will deal with the development of nineteenth-century photography and photographic techniques, with a slant that takes into account the role of photography in relation to the cultural history of contemporaneity, first of all briefly dealing with the critical theoretical debate on photography (including what has started from the analog / digital transition), therefore of the relationships and intertwining with a series of cultural and scientific fields and its applications and social functions (in particular with regard to Europe and North America).


The second part of the course will address some of the main issues relating to conservation and cataloging, institutions and research and protection initiatives that refer to photography as a cultural asset, both locally and nationally. The photographic cataloging standards (sheet F and sheet FF) and their applications at national level and the guidelines on the digitization of photographic images will be presented, with related examples and exercises.

Readings/Bibliography

The basic bibliography is the following, divided into three sections (A- manuals; B- history and theory of photography; C- cataloging and conservation;), in each of which there is the reading of a text of their choice for non-students. attending.

For attending students basic preparation on the following texts is expected:

A) C. Graham, La fotografia. Una storia culturale e visuale, Torino, Einaudi, 2009. Alternatively, only for students who have not already taken an exam in the history of photography is recommended: J.C. Lemagny, A. Rouillé, Storia della fotografia, Firenze. Sansoni, 1989;

B) S. Berselli, L. Gasparini, L'archivio fotografico. Manuale per la conservazione e la gestione della fotografia antica e moderna, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2000 (chapters: I; II; III; IV); Gli archivi fotografici personali nell’era digitale: memorie private e Public History, a cura di S. Allegrezza e R. Biscioni, Torre del Lago Puccini (LU), Civita Editoriale, 2021 (only pages: 39-58; 83-99; 139-148; 233-256).

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR NON ATTENDING STUDENTS

A. Manuals (one of the following):

J.C. Lemagny, A. Rouillé, Storia della fotografia, Firenze. Sansoni, 1989;

Beaumont Newall, Storia della fotogafia, Torino, Einaudi, 1996

B) Theory and history of photographic tecnique (one of the following):

P. Galassi, Prima della fotografia : la pittura e l'invenzione della fotografia,Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1989;

P. Sorlin, I figli di Nadar. Il "secolo" dell'immagine analogica, Torino, Einaudi, 2001;

AA.VV., L'Italia d'argento. 1839-1859. Storia del dagherrotipo in Italia, Firenze, Alinari, 2003

F. Faeta, Fotografi e fotografie. Uno sguardo antropologico, Milano, Angeli, 2006

R. Signorini, Alle origini del fotografico. Lettura di Pencil of Nature (1844-46) di William Henry Fox Talbot, Bologna, Clueb, 2007;

M. Miraglia, Specchio che l'occulto rivela. Ideologie e schemi rappresentativi della fotografia fra Ottocento e Novecento, Milano, Angeli, 2011.

C) Conservation, cataloging and digitization of the photographic material (one of the following):

R. Scaramella, Fotografia: storia e riconoscimento dei processi fotografici.Roma, 1999;

I. Zannier, D. Tartaglia, La fotografia in archivio, Milano, Sansoni, 2000;

S. Berselli, L. Gasparini, L'archivio fotografico. Manuale per la conservazione e la gestione della fotografia antica e moderna, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2000;

Gli archivi fotografici personali nell’era digitale: memorie private e Public History, a cura di S. Allegrezza e R. Biscioni, Torre del Lago Puccini (LU), Civita Editoriale, 2021.

 

Teaching methods

The teaching methodology includes a series of lectures and an exercise on national and international photographic collections for a historical study and a technical / practical application of digital cataloging, digitization and Public History of photographic material.

Assessment methods

For attending students:

The verification will take place through:

a) the preparation and discussion of an original project (paper) based on an exercise on the main photographic collections to be held in the second part of the course. This project, to be presented and discussed in the classroom during the second part of the course, or directly during the final examination, will be given a grade that will average with the final grade on the day of the exam.

b) a final oral examination relating to the institutional and monographic part of the course, consisting of at least three questions on authors, movements or events in the history of photography based on one of the manuals indicated in point A) of the basic bibliography, and from a discussion on the theoretical and methodological texts indicated in part B) which highlights the essential issues addressed in the volumes.

The exam score is the average of the scores obtained in the individual project and the final oral examination.

For non-attending students:


The exam will be taken through an oral examination, through the preparation of the following texts:

A manual chosen from those proposed in section A) of the basic bibliography;

A group of works chosen from among those indicated by the teacher in reference to point B) (theoretical and methodological works);

A work chosen from section C) to replace the practical exercise and the individual project;


The candidate must be able to correctly frame the languages, protagonists and events of the history of photography in their historical context. For the part relating to monographic work, it is required to be able to highlight the essential issues addressed in the volumes and the main theoretical and methodological issues emerge from the reading.

For all students the final evaluation following indications of Alma Mater's guidelines:


- insufficient grade: lack of basic knowledge and inability to produce a correct interpretation of the texts and / or problems -


- sufficient grade: possession of basic knowledge; mainly correct interpretation, but conducted with imprecision and little autonomy.


- good grade: possession of intermediate level knowledge; fully correct interpretation, but not always precise and autonomous.


- excellent grade: possession of high level knowledge; interpretation of problems not only correct but conducted with autonomy and precision. Excellent oral expression skills.

Only for the students attending the course, there will be the possibility of writing an essay. The method will be explained during the first lesson of the course.

Teaching tools

The course aims to give to the student a basic education on the main stages of the history of photography and audiovisuals, on historiographical currents, on the methodologies, sources and themes that have recently emerged in the research work and in the discussion within the discipline, but also on the treatment for the purpose of preserving and enhancing the audiovisual materials.

For this reason, in addition to the lectures, the student will be provided with digital tools such as power points and the possibility of accessing the computer lab (computer room on the mezzanine floor) where they can use scanners and PCs.

Office hours

See the website of Raffaella Biscioni