Athena visit to the British Library

Members of Athena, Queen's College sixth formers interested in high culture, visited the BL last week to see 'Points of view: capturing the 19th century in photographs'. This major exhibition of the British Library's photographic collection has been highly acclaimed. Queen's head of History David Willows writes:

What began as an introduction to the invention of photography in 1839 and the rival claims and technologies of the British Fox Talbot and French Daguerre soon developed into a far more demanding and interesting analysis of the development of photography in the 19th century. Drawing on rarely displayed items from the British Library's collection our guide demonstrated how photography might be viewed as both art form and social commentary, and how changing technology led it to become the primary means of visual expression in the modern age. We were surprised when Catherine (IISP) recognised her great-great-great-grandfather - William Gladstone - in one of the assembled cartes de visite, and interesting issues were raised concerning truth and reality in relation to the artistic conventions of the time. Thoughtful and challenging, this was a great opportunity for historians and artists alike to gain a fresh perspective on an old medium.

Posted: 15 Feb 2010