The Lens Media Lab at Yale University will host a symposium titled "Darkroom to Data: New Methods for Exploring the Material History of Photography" on August 12th in New Haven, CT.

The symposium will showcase the Lens Media Lab's new research and
digital tools related to the material history of black and white photography in the twentieth century as well as presentations from our collaborators at the Center for Creative Photography, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Met Museum on how they have incorporated the Lab's tools into studies of their photographic collections.

To learn more about the symposium and to register, please visit the
conference website: https://www.darkroomtodata.org/

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Symposium Program.
All times are in EST.

8:00–9:00 h I Registration & Coffee

9:00–9:20 h I Welcome and Opening Remarks
Paul Messier and Kappy Mintie, Lens Media Lab

9:20–10:40 h I Session 1: Paperbase
Chair: Elizabeth Mansfield, Professor of Art History, Pennsylvania State University

9:20–9:35 h
Lens Media Lab: Collection, Background, Research
Paul Messier, Pritzker Director, Lens Media Lab

9:35–10:05 h
Exploring the Lens Meis Lab Reference Collection with Paperbase
Damon Crockett, Lead Data Scientist, Lens Media Lab

10:05–10:20 h
Paperbase as a Tool for Art Historical Research
Kappy Mintie, Senior Researcher in Art History, Lens Media Lab

10:20–10:40 h I Session 1 Q&A

10: 40–11:00 h I Break

11:00–12:00 h I Session 2: Discoveries from the Lens Media Lab Reference Collection
Chair: Monica Bravo, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University

11:00–11:10 h
Optical Brighteners in Photographic Paper: New Methods, Data, Results
Alison Carranza, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow, Cultural Heritage Research and Practice

11:10–11:20 h
Marking History: Progress and Insights Into the Study of Photographic Paper Backprinting
Sydney Nikolaus, Research Associate, Lens Media Lab

11:20–11:30 h
Histories of Photographic Paper Manufacturers
Joitree Alam, Graduate Student, Northwestern University

11:30–11:40 h
Characterizing Photographic Paper Texture: A New Approach for Measuring Surface Roughness
Jack DiSciacca, Signal Acquisition Scientist (former), Lens Media Lab

11:40–12:00 h I Session 2 Q&A

12:00–2:00 h I Lunch

2:00–3:20 h I Session 3: Partner Projects and Research
Chair: Sylvie Pénichon, Director of Paper, Photography, and Media Conservation, Art Institute of Chicago

2:00–2:20 h
Man Ray's Rayographs: A Multi-Collection Assessment Organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Katie Sanderson, Conservator, Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Nora Kennedy, Sherman Fairchild Conservator of Photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art

2:20–2:40 h
A Characterization of Robert Mapplethorpe Prints at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Tess Hamilton, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Fellow in Photograph Conservation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Jeffrey Warda, Senior Conservator, Paper and Photographs, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Cynthia Yue, Data Analyst, Lens Media Lab

2:40–3:00 h
Spheres of Influence: Material Affinities in the Photographs of Lola Álvarez Bravo, Tina Modotti, and Edward Weston
Bryanna Knotts, Assistant Conservator, Center for Creative Photography
Cynthia Yue, Data Analyst, Lens Media Lab

3:00–3:20 h I Session 3 Q&A

3:20–3:40 h I Break

3:40–5:00 h I Session 4: Legacies and Futures of the Lens Media Lab
Chair: Lee Ann Daffner, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Conservator of Photographs, Museum of Modern Art

3:40–4:00 h
The Lens Media Lab Reference Collection of Photographic Paper
Kappy Mintie, Senior Researcher in Art History, Lens Media Lab

4:00–4:20 h
The Lens Media Lab Method for Characterizing Photographic Papers
Damon Crockett, Lead Data Scientist, Lens Media Lab

4:20–4:40 h
The Lens Media Lab Sample Book: A New Tool for Describing the Visual Attributes of Photographs
Paul Messier, Pritzker Director, Lens Media Lab

4:40–5:00 h I Session 4 Q&A

5:00–5:15 h I Closing Remarks
Paul Messier, Pritzker Director, Lens Media Lab

5:15–6:45 h I Reception