This years Daguerreian society conference is in NYC from Oct. 19th-23rd. It features a Pre-Conference Symposium on “How the 19th-century Is the Basis for All Subsequent Photographic Art” (Oct 20th) and a contemporary exhibit at the Howard Greenberg Gallery.

Corresponding to the shift of the Daguerreian society in recent years away from solely focusing on the “Art and Science of the Daguerreotype” to that all early photographic processes, the symposium outlook takes in all 19th century photographic process used in contemporary art. The contemporary exhibit at the Howard Greenberg Gallery will show artists using different analogue photographic processes and will include 4 contemporary daguerreotypists – Takashi Arai, Adam Fuss, Cris Bierenbach, and Craig Tuffin.

The one-day symposium “How the 19th-century Is the Basis for All Subsequent Photographic Art” features a panel session with prominent contemporary artists discussing how 19th-century photography and its processes have influenced their work. It will also include presentations by curators and collectors on why they include 19th-century photography along with modern photography in their collections.

Sarah Greenough from the National Gallery of Art will moderate the lead-off panel of artists, including Vera Lutter, Adam Fuss, Jerry Spagnoli and Sally Mann. Other sessions will include Denise Bethel speaking on this topic and how collectors and curators should respond, and interviews with several of the world’s top photography collectors, including Michael Mattis and Judy Hochberg, and Thomas Walther.

The trade fair is titled the “19th-Century Photography Show” but contemporary daguerreotypists will, as usual, be able to rent tables to show/offer their works. Tables cost $300 for non society members and $250 for society members.

For more info see www.daguerre.org

Home and the World, 2010, © Adam Fuss

Negativeless is the current exhibition at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London. It runs from September 19th – October 23, 2014. Among the artists included are contemporary daguerreotypists Sean Culver and Adam Fuss.

“In a world of photography where digital ‘snaps’ are becoming the tedious norm, the Michael Hoppen Gallery presents a show navigating an area of photography that little is known about: the photograph made without a negative. No, not a photogram – but a photograph. We will present a wonderful mix of works, from rare early daguerreotypes through to contemporary takes on these early techniques.

 Photographs were invented to be reproduced on demand. The London Stereoscopic Company, as an example, in the 19th century managed to produce hundreds of thousands of copies of photographs from individual negatives. As the mechanical world came into being,mass re-production became the preferred method.

 The early photographer in the 1830’s and 1840’s strained to produce lasting images of quality and consistency and it was only in 1835 that the negative by Henry Fox Talbot was invented which allowed them to print numerous copies, and after the paper negative, it was no less arduous and complex a process coating collodion negatives. However, in 1837 [sic], Daguerre, a French scientist and inventor, developed a beautifully complex system of producing a photograph on a silver plated copper sheet which was usually cased so that owners could keep the images of their loved ones close to them in their pockets. Larger, half plate daguerreotypes, although much more expensive to produce and hence highly sought after, were often hung on the wall.

Today’s photographers have adopted the digital world in a way no one could have predicted. The days of the hand-made photograph, the laboratory technician, the chemist and artist combined seem almost like a distant memory. The camaraderie of the photographers and printers who would meet in the basement darkrooms of Soho to go over contacts and discuss the printing is all but gone…”

To read the full exhibition statement and see additional images visit the website.

Home and the World, 2010 © Adam Fuss

Presence Series: Gift, 2006, © Sean Culver

The Soho Photo Gallery will be holding its 10th annual alternative process competition November 5-29 in New York City. The submission deadline is soon – August 22, 2014, but submissions are digital. Alternative processes include (but are not limited to): Albumen, Cyanotype, VanDykeBrown, Platinum/Palladium, GumBichromate, Bromoil,  Salt Print, Tintype, Ziatype, Daguerreotype, ImageTransfers, Liquid Emulsion, and Photogravure. Sponsor for this  year’s Competition is The Penumbra Foundation:Center for Alternative Photography who were integral to the creation and success of the IO-1 all-daguerreian juried show last year. For more info see the SohoPhoto website

Focus 45: Ralph Wiegandt on Nanotechnology and the Daguerreotype

On Thursday July 10, 2014 from 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm in Curtis Theatre

For more information, see the events page.

On January 7th Claudio Santambrogio will be giving a workshop on contemporary daguerreotypes. The event will take place at the National Library of Norway in Oslo that is hosting a commemoration of the 175th anniversary of photography. Details of the event can be found on the website (information is in Norwegian, but Claudio’s workshop will be in English). For event inquiries please contact Claudio.

Jerry Spagnoli was recently in Paris to unveil his new collaborative installation. The 50 whole plates are from negatives shot by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. The show was curated and designed by Gerhard Steidl and sponsored by Fendi. It is presented in a temporary pavilion on the banks of the Seine and coincides with Haute Couture week in Paris. It is pretty safe to say that daguerreotypes have never been exhibited like this before! The exhibition will run through July 14.

Here is a recent synopsis of the spectacular event.

Carlos Darío Albornoz has an exhibition of his daguerreotypes on display at the Logia Masónica Estrella de Tucumán, Argentina.  They will be on display through July 9th, 2013. Below are some images from the opening reception.

On Wednesday March 20th, Erasto Carranza will be giving a lecture on historical photographic processes which will include: heliography, physautotype, wet processes, salt paper and the daguerreotype.

Date/Time: March 20th, 7:30pm (CST).
Location:  Centro de las Artes Parque Fundidora, Monterrey, Mexico

Takashi Arai’s daguerreotypes are part of a multimedia exhibit in Tokyo with a guitar and violin experimental music program. It involves the daguerreotypes, lighting devices and a movie based on the reflecting images on the daguerreotypes.