A History of Photography Lecture Series
You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for a tour through the history of photography. In this series, we will explore the origins, the pioneers, the journeys, the documents, and the art of a medium that revolutionized human communication. Using the best possible reproductions we will see the technologies, practitioners, and key works that made photography central to the story of the world. The series is intended for both the newcomer to this history and the curious expert looking to contribute to the discussion. See you there!
Part 1: The Origins of Photography
January 18, 2018, from 7–8PM
In part 1 of the series, Jeffrey Martz will introduce the figures that created photography. From tinker-aristocrats like William Henry Fox Talbot to Parisian-entertainer Louis Daguerre; photography was developed to solve a very particular and age-old problem. This “mirror with a memory” and “pencil of nature” revolutionize the world. Learn the how and why in a forum with high definition reproductions and open conversation.
Part 2: The Pioneers of Photography
May 3, 2018, from 7–8PM
Early 19th-century photography develops under the pressure of many imperatives. The public, eager for images of themselves, creates a massive new democratic market for portraiture. The first professional studios respond with pioneering daguerreotype, calotype, and collodion work that set the course for what the medium will become. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz as he introduces photographic revolutionaries like Anna Atkins, Hill & Adamson, Southworth & Hawes and more in an open forum featuring the best-possible reproductions.
Part 3: The Documents of Photography, Pt. 1
May 31, 2018, from 7–8PM
The technology of photography develops rapidly in the first decades following its 1839 announcement. Nineteenth-century scientists and image-making pioneers take photography’s first purpose – the document – to new frontiers of human vision and experience. From the macro to the microscopic, from the stars to beneath the waves, photography brings new eyes to a positivist world. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening of high definition imagery and open-forum discussion featuring the works of Eadweard Muybridge, Wilson Bentley, Roger Fenton, and more.
Part 4: The Documents of Photography, Pt. 2
June 21, 2018, from 7–8PM
The romantic imperative and a public eager for the truth of the camera image drive documentary photographers to all parts of the globe. From the mysterious orient to the bleak wilderness of the American West, photography in the 19th-century simultaneously reinforces and shapes our concept of otherness. Back home, social concerns compel pioneering eyewitness photographers into the streets to record the truth of their times. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz as we take a journey alongside pioneers Francis Frith, John Thomson, Jacob Riis, and many others. Our forum will feature the best-possible reproductions and dialogue.
Part 5: The Art of Photography
July 26, 2018, from 7–8PM
The impulse to create beauty finds new expression in the camera. Academically-trained professionals and avant-garde amateurs push photography into the realm of fine art. A debate stirs around the artistic efficacy of machine-made imagery and the role of its operator. By the end of the century art itself will never be the same. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening of high definition imagery and discussion featuring the works of Henry Peach Robinson, Julia Margaret-Cameron, Peter Henry Emerson, and many more.
Presenter Bio: A seasoned traveler and fine art photographer, Jeffrey Martz earned his MFA in photography from Utah State University in 1997. He has taught photography, bookbinding, and art history for over 20 years, and currently teaches at Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, CA.
