Photographs in Interpersonal Relations and Cultural Diplomacy

• When? 08 November 2019 - 08 November 2019 , 14:00-16:00
• Where? Wolverhamtpon School of Art, Lecture Theatre (MK045), University of Wolverhampton

This talk will explore the relationship of photography with political, social, and civic affairs. Historically, this connection has cemented a general understanding of photographs as indexical records of the past, as pieces of evidence, and as aide-memoires more broadly. Conceptualised this way, over time photographs have inspired powerful people and governed social groups to initiate distinct photographic practices as a means to advance their differing ambitions and challenge each other’s aspirations. Surveying some of the most dominant practices from the early and more recent history of photography, the talk will prioritise examples from a variety of continents, historical moments, cultures, and digital platforms. In doing so, it will demonstrate the significant role photography has played in the organisation of collective interpersonal relations since its first appearance in the nineteenth century, as well as in the formation of connected cultural knowledge and memory, since the medium’s absorption into smart communication technologies and social media. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which photographs are used in our time to manage identity politics, preserve cultural heritage, and overcome as well as administrate cultural conflicts through institutional, professional, and communal digital heritage initiatives.

Gil Pasternak is Associate Professor of Social and Political Photographic Cultures in the Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) at De Montfort University. Investigating intersections of photography with political realities and cultural heritage practices, his work particularly focuses on Israeli society, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, twentieth-century Poland, and the histories of Polish Jewry from the interwar period to the post-communist era. His previous and forthcoming substantial publications include The Handbook of Photography Studies, Visioning Israel–Palestine: Encounters at the Cultural Boundaries of Conflict, and a special issue of the journal Photography & Culture titled “Photography in Transitioning European Communist and Post-Communist Histories”. In 2017, Gil was awarded a large European Commission research grant to study photographic digital heritage in cultural conflicts. His talk will primarily draw on findings related to this project.

This project is set up in collaboration with Black Country Visual Arts, supervised by Anand Chhabra, and commissioned by Geoff Broadway, Director of the Living Memory project.

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