From the power of images to images of power, this workshop will explore the representations of power and the power of representation in contemporary American and British photography. What is photography capable of doing? Whether in the form of a public person, the environment of power (emblematic places and explicit or underlying forms) or its symbolism, what is photography capable of revealing about power itself? Political, institutional, economic or social power all depend upon a system of relations or tensions between groups or individuals (accepted, rejected, questioned, expressed visually or internalized) participating in the construction of the identity, myths or memories of the American or British nations. In what manner does photography enhance or contribute to this construction or deconstruction of the notion of identity and nation?

What is photography capable of doing? Whether in the form of a public person, the environment of power (emblematic places and explicit or underlying forms) or its symbolism, what is photography capable of revealing about power itself? Political, institutional, economic or social power all depend upon a system of relations or tensions between groups or individuals (accepted, rejected, questioned, expressed visually or internalized) participating in the construction of the identity, myths or memories of the American or British nations. In what manner does photography enhance or contribute to this construction or deconstruction of the notion of identity and nation?

What is the intention of the photographer and the final product he / she produced? Do the images of power aim to impress, impose, terrify, reassure (mediating obedience / official art or denunciation / distorted, satirical image) or provoke, to advocate extreme changes or abate tensions, to keep at a distance or create a feeling of proximity?

Proposals may also focus on photographic accidents or unintended details within an image of power that makes an image historical or on the contrary anecdotal, whether it is an award winning image or simply a unique image captured by the photographer’s eye giving prominence to the unforeseen, the unexpected or an artistic mishap.

As a means of communication serving a political ambition or commissioned by the government, the image and its use in the political sphere may be explored as a conveyor of ideology or rather a legitimate political tool, or even as a force of opposition embodying an act of resistance. The reinterpretation of reality through images of power may be explored along with the fictionalisation of the image (narrative power of the image, image-text, language of the image) or its dramatization (mise en scène, photographic devises).

Images of power as documents are windows into a world or “certificates of presence” (Barthes), bearing witness and recording important events and people. Serving as a visual record of an era – transmitting a “legacy” or serving as a dialogue between time periods, images of power may take the form of portraits (official or stolen e.g. paparazzi photography), photojournalism (war, protests, sports, street scenes), photography of architecture, landscapes and places of power, photography of women or women photographers’ works, thus reinforcing the link with the two precedent workshops. Close attention may be paid to the scope of power of various types of media distributing images of power (the press/media of divers quality e.g. collateral damage of images of power in tabloid journalism and gutter press, web, museum exhibits, electoral campaigns).

Submission guidelines

Proposals may underline the persistence of images of power and their repetition, variations, recycling as well as correlations or overlaps between the public and private spheres.

The orientations suggested here are non-exhaustive and should only be starting points. Papers are highly encouraged to emphasize shared features or differences which characterize UK and US contemporary photography.

We welcome 300-word abstracts in English to be sent together with a short biographical note via email to jane.bayly@univ-nantes.fr and julie.morere@univ-nantes.fr.

Deadline for submission: December 15, 2014.

http://www.crini.univ-nantes.fr/

Workshop : 27 March 2015

Scientific committee

• Charlotte Gould (présidente), Maître de conférences, civilisation britannique et analyse de l’image – Langues, Textes, Arts et Cultures du Monde Anglophone (PRISMES)
• Jean Kempf, Professeur de civilisation américaine, Université de Lyon 2 – Triangle
• Corinne Silva, Chercheuse et artiste photographe – London School of the Arts et Photography Archive Research Center (PARC)
• Marion Duquerroy, Chercheuse post-doctorante – Labex CAP/Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art
• Julie Jones, Docteur en Histoire de l’Art Contemporain – Centre Pompidou, Cabinet de la Photographie

Organisers

• Jane Bayly, Maître de conférences, civilisation américaine ¬– Centre de Recherche sur les Identités Nationales et l’Interculturalité, Université de Nantes
• Julie Morère, Maître de conférences, arts et littérature britanniques – Centre de Recherche sur les Identités Nationales et l’Interculturalité, Université de Nantes

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