The Art Historical Image in the Digital Age

Call for Participants

Florence, 26 June -- 7 July 2023

The Art Historical Image in the Digital Age is a two-week summer seminar that will explore ways that digital materials have transformed research practices in the field in both conceptual and practical ways. What constitutes image data? What are the principles, conventions, and structures by which archives, museums, libraries, conservation labs, and scholars classify, organize, and use this data as it moves from single reproductions to digital repositories to our own personal research workspaces and eventually to publications? What are some of the continuities and discontinuities between analogue and digital formats? What are some of the new relationships between image-based and object-based research facilitated by digital materials and computational methods? What kinds of opportunities might this interrogation present to think strategically about the development of a more global, inclusive art history? Participants in this seminar will engage with these questions by considering the art historical image and its complex material and digital ecosystems.

The seminar will be hosted by the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut (KHI), home to one of the most important art historical photo archives in Europe. The seminar will familiarize participants with key concepts related to photography and imaging in art historical research, image data and its integral role in the digital humanities, and equip them with the basic skills necessary to organize and manage digital images for their research. Organized visits to the photo archives of the KHI, Villa I Tatti, and other institutions (including a group excursion to Rome) will introduce participants first-hand to current methods and practices of image data management used by institutions and repositories. These visits will familiarize participants with analogue institutional holdings, and provide opportunities for discussion with photo archivists and the technical teams working on digitization and image data. The seminar will also include discussion of readings and current digital projects across a variety of periods and fields as a way to connect participants' own work to the expanding constellation of historiographical and methodological issues around digital art history.

The course is ideal for graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars seeking an introduction to digital practices and methods to enrich and advance their scholarship and/or for integration into their teaching and curricula in a discussion-based context. Participants should be working on projects in European art from antiquity to the early nineteenth century and/or global traditions represented in European image and photographic archives. Participants will be selected on the basis of their ability to formulate compelling research questions around the conjunction of art history and digital imaging technologies.

The seminar will be led by Emily Pugh, Principal Research Specialist for Digital Art History, Getty Research Institute, and David Ogawa, Associate Professor of Art History, Union College.

This seminar has been funded by a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. This funding enables us to offer participants lodging in Florence for the duration of the seminar, transportation for site visits, and transportation and lodging for the excursion to Rome. Participants will be responsible for their own airfare/transportation to Florence, meals, and daily expenses; there will be no cost to participate.

The application deadline has passed, and we will notify participants of acceptance by 23 January 2023.

FAQs:

1. What are the lodging arrangements being offered for Florence?

We have arranged for a block of rooms at the Casa Regina del Santo Rosario, which is a one-minute walk from the KHI. There are a limited number of single rooms with private bath. The other rooms are singles, with a bath shared with one other single room. We are aware that housing in Florence during the summer can be very expensive and in limited supply, so we encourage participants to consider this option. Housing assignments will be made on a first come, first served basis. Reservations will be finalized by 10 February 2023.

2. What will the schedule be for the seminar?

The seminar will meet daily for the two week duration, generally with morning and afternoon sessions. Some afternoons will remain unscheduled. We are planning the first week in Florence, with the excursion to Rome taking place from Sunday 2 July - Tuesday 4 July. The remainder of the second week will be back at the KHI in Florence. Participants who are selected may expect to receive the schedule before the end of January 2023.

3. What sites will we visit?

The preliminary list includes: The Photo Archives of the KHI and Villa I Tatti, and the temporary site of the Alinari Foundation in Florence. Planned site visits in Rome include the Photo Archives of the American Academy in Rome, the British School at Rome, the Bibliotheca Hertziana, and the Istituto Centrale per la Catalogazione e Documentazione, a division of the Italian Ministry of Culture.

4. Is this seminar appropriate for someone with no specialized technical knowledge or experience (except as a user) of digital projects?

Yes.

5. Is this a "digital boot camp," where we will work intensively with digital tools?

No, in-depth training in digital tools will not be provided, but participants will be exposed to a range of tools and systems, and will learn basic terms and activities related to data compilation, management, transformation, and analysis.

6. Do I need any specialized computer hardware or software?

Participants should bring their own laptops and cables. WiFi will be available at the KHI, and any software we explore will be open-source. We do plan a photogrammetry workshop; participants may bring a DSLR camera, but may also use a cell phone. Please be sure to bring the correct cable to transfer images from your phone to a laptop.

7. Is there a charge for participation in the seminar?

No, thanks to the generous funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the seminar, lodging in Florence, and transportation and lodging for the excursion to Rome are covered for participants. Participants will, however, be responsible for their own transportation to and from Florence, for their daily expenses, and their meals.

8. How many participants will there be?

The seminar will be limited to 12 participants, in order to maximize scholarly exchange and discussion.

9. Do participants have to be working in any particular field or time period?

Participants should be working on projects in European art from antiquity to the early nineteenth century and/or global traditions represented in European image and photographic archives.

10. Is this seminar geared to graduate students, or faculty at early or middle stages of their careers?

Our goal is to assemble a group of scholars who are prepared to engage with methodological and historiographic issues around the art historical image in the digital age. We hope to create a scholarly community with a breadth of experience, research specialties, and intellectual interests.