Photography at Work

Stephanie Schwartz, Bryn Mawr College; and Devin Fore, Princeton
University; mail to: sjschwartzbrynmawr.edu and dforeprinceton.edu

Submission Deadline: May 8, 2009

Photography’s vocation as a technology of production was obvious to
observers in the nineteenth century. In his report of 1839, Dominique
François Arago, for example, compared photography’s „practical uses“ to
those of the telescope and the barometer. If Arago’s taxonomy appears
striking today, this is because photography has in the interim become a
means of creating representations or likenesses. This session seeks to
bridge the gap between the present and a century that presumed
photography’s technical sources, asking: What are the consequences and/or
advantages of approaching photography as a technology „at work“?
„Photography at Work“ seeks to bring together papers addressing the
relationship between photography and labor, albeit labor not as mere
subject matter of the photograph (e.g. imagery of workers, etc.), but as a
structural component of photographic production. Studies comparing
photographic „work“ with that of pre-photographic or digital technologies,
as well as papers addressing artistic practices that incorporate the
„labor“ of photography are welcome.

Proposals for participation in sessions should be sent directly to the
appropriate session chair(s).

Every proposal should include the following six items:

1. Completed session participation proposal form, located at the end of
this brochure.
2. Preliminary abstract of one to two double-spaced,typed pages.
3. Letter explaining speaker\'s interest, expertise in the topic, and CAA
membership status.
4. CV with home and office mailing addresses, email address, and phone and
fax numbers. Include summer address and telephone number, if applicable.
5. Documentation of work when appropriate (with a self-addressed, stamped
envelope), especially for sessions in which artists might discuss their
own work.
6. A stamped, self-addressed postcard for confirmation that proposal has
been received (if mailing internationally, it is recommended that
proposals be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested).

CHAIRS DETERMINE
THE SPEAKERS FOR THEIR SESSIONS
AND REPLY TO ALL
APPLICANTS BY JUNE 1, 2009.

For more information, see: http://conference.collegeart.org/2010