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Editor by Jose Neves
PhotoResearcher, 2022
Guest Editor of an issue dedicated to the relationship between photobook making and propaganda. ... more Guest Editor of an issue dedicated to the relationship between photobook making and propaganda.
Published by the ESHPh. EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
Articles by Jose Neves
Compendium: Journal of Comparative Studies, 2022
This paper proposes to analyse the first stages of the relationship between textual matter and ph... more This paper proposes to analyse the first stages of the relationship between textual matter and photographic images in nineteenth-century photobook practice, investigating how these two elements interacted within several books created during that period of photobook history. The examination aims to demonstrate how those photographic books embody an unexpected duality in which text and photographic images can be divergent or harmonious, questioning established academic perceptions that defined photographs as exclusively secondary in relation to text or categorically central in the construction of photographic books. In its second part, the paper examines how these different intersemiotic relationships did not immediately sustain the type of photo-textual narrative this article attributes to photobookworks, a type of photographic book defined by a complex suprasegmental, multi-layered and relational narrative predominantly based on a multimodal discourse that traverses the entirety of the book.
PhotoResearcher, 2022
Rosalind Solomon’s Portraits in the Times of AIDS (1988), Billy Howard’s Epitaphs for the Living:... more Rosalind Solomon’s Portraits in the Times of AIDS (1988), Billy Howard’s Epitaphs for the Living: Words and Images in the Time of AIDS (1989), and Nicholas and Bebe Nixon’s People with AIDS (1991)1 were created during what Alexandra Juhasz and Theodore (ted) Kerr labelled the “AIDS Crisis Culture” period, an intense phase of artistic and political activity between 1987 and 1996 defined by, according to writer and activist Edmund White, the need to “compete with (rectify, purge)” the widespread negative and stereotypical representation of People Living with AIDS (PLWAs) propagated by mass media throughout the 1980s. At the heart of these profoundly touching books is a political thrust that aims to highlight the plight and stigmatisation of PLWAs and change the public perception of the condition as a minority-related issue. Not surprisingly, the visual-verbal discourse presented in these books catalysed a complex discussion that surpassed these artists’ initial and well-intended motivations, generating a vital and pertinent debate concerning the most suitable representation of PLWAs at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This article proposes to re-examine that febrile discussion by looking at how the production and circulation of these three books shaped the reception and interpretation of the messages created by the photographers of these crucial and still timely publications.
Source. The Photographic Review, Dec 2016
On the surface - images of architecture and public space in debate. Conference proceedings / Debates Collection, 2016
Book Chapter by Jose Neves
The Abode of Anamnesis, 2021
Although much has been written about the history of the "photobook" in the past decade, most surv... more Although much has been written about the history of the "photobook" in the past decade, most surveys published about the subject are shaped by the photo-thematic or geo-specific compartmentalisation employed by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger in their ground-breaking study of this book practice. Since the publication of "The Photobook: A History, Vol. I" in 2004, only a few authors have attempted to explore the essential narrative mechanisms that seem to define this particular form of visual storytelling. The central aim of this essay is to uncover the historical evolution and context of the narrative mechanisms that shape "photobook" making and determine how the development of photographic printing technology enabled the transformation of photographic narrative on the page.
Conference Presentations by Jose Neves
Vision of Contemporary Photographic Narrative’ Symposium, 2019
Despite the numerous 'photobook' surveys published in the last decade – mostly focused on expandi... more Despite the numerous 'photobook' surveys published in the last decade – mostly focused on expanding the geographical and thematic classification of photobook practice proposed by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger in The Photobook: A History (2004, 2006) – not many studies have attempted to trace and expose the inner workings of this particular type of 'photobook'. This lecture proposes to counteract that scarcity by exploring the material and artistic circumstances that seem to have shaped the emergence of a specific form of narrative montage on the photographically illustrated page. The talk will begin by examining the materialisation of what Alex Sweetman has designated as photobookwork during the 1920s. This will be followed by an analysis of photobookwork practice during the 1960s and 1970s and the impact of appropriation and conceptual art upon the artistic use of photographic images in book form. The last segment of the lecture investigates how these two critical shifts in photobook history inform contemporary photobookwork making.
PHRC Annual Conference '18
It is now widely known that the first six decades of photographic practice were shaped by the con... more It is now widely known that the first six decades of photographic practice were shaped by the continuous development and improvement of photographic printing methods. However, the impact of those printing codes upon photographic illustration in book form have rarely been discussed. As argued in this paper, the continual development and discovery of printing codes, in particular photomechanical printing processes, not only shaped the material relationship between photography and the page, but also conditioned the emergence and maturation of photographic narrative in book form. Until the development of halftone printing in the late nineteenth century, the production and design of photographically illustrated publications was defined by the impossibility to fully integrate letterpress and photographic printing. Although amply featured in books, tipped-in photographic images were, in most cases, interleaved at a later stage of the volume’s production. A process that, as argued in this paper, impeded the full development of the cumulative and relational visual narrative this essay associates with photobookwork (Sweetman, 1985, 1986) practice. Although halftone printing did transform visual narrative in photographically illustrated cultural magazines, it did not generate a universal transformation of the illustrated page. Fine art photographic publications, in particular Pictorialist photobooks and magazines, for instance, reluctantly embraced this new form of photographic reproduction. This paper attempts, therefore, to examine the causes behind this discrepancy by looking at how the mechanical nature of halftone reproduction transformed visual narrative in cultural magazines and simultaneously ossified photobook practice until the materialization of the photobookwork format in the early 20th century.
Porto School of Architecture
Talks by Jose Neves
PhotobookWeek Aarhus 2015
This short presentation will discuss what seems to be a contemporary tendency to question and dec... more This short presentation will discuss what seems to be a contemporary tendency to question and deconstruct the physical limits of the photobook. What does this specific practice say about current photobook-making? Are we witnessing the emergence of a different type of photobook and photobook practitioner? What separates these unconventional titles from traditional photobooks? Using several case studies, this talk will not only attempt to answer the above questions but also examine some of the central characteristics of photobook practice.
Belfast Exposed
For this event, Jose Luis Neves will focus on the Ulster University Irish Photobook Collection, d... more For this event, Jose Luis Neves will focus on the Ulster University Irish Photobook Collection, discussing the initial stages of the project, methodological and research procedures, the acquisition process, the current stage of the project and plans for the future of the collection in terms of acquisitions and its public and academic visibility.
PhotoIreland 2013
The main objective of this presentation is to engage in a debate about the blurring of boundaries... more The main objective of this presentation is to engage in a debate about the blurring of boundaries in bookwork practice after the 1960s and the need to consider investigative perspectives that go beyond the photo-historical view that currently defines the identity of the photobook.
Dublin Institute of Technology - School of Media
University of Ulster - School of Art & Design
Belfast Exposed
This lunchtime lecture by José Luís Neves will outline the historical relationship between archit... more This lunchtime lecture by José Luís Neves will outline the historical relationship between architecture, the photo book and photography.
Exhibitions (Curatorial) by Jose Neves
Curator, 2021
On 25 April 1974, Portuguese fascism was overthrown by a military coup. What ensued in the follow... more On 25 April 1974, Portuguese fascism was overthrown by a military coup. What ensued in the following five years was a complex and turbulent transition into democracy. The photobooks, pamphlets and postcards included in this exhibition are a record of that period and show how these objects functioned as instruments of celebration, propaganda, protest, recollection and questioning. These characteristics often overlapped in a single publication creating a powerful visual archive of the frenetic and unpredictable succession of events that marked this tense and exuberant period in recent Portuguese history.
By gathering and re-activating this vibrant material, this show reveals the crucial role these publications had in documenting and preserving the diverse ideological battlegrounds and key socio-political events that shaped Portugal’s initial steps towards democracy.
This exhibition is the first public display of a vast photobook selection that will be included in a study dedicated to contemporary Portuguese photobook practice to be published in 2022.
Curator, 2019
Taking into consideration the history of photobook practice, one could argue that most photobooks... more Taking into consideration the history of photobook practice, one could argue that most photobooks use the codex conservatively. However, it is possible to find exceptions. The books displayed in this small exhibition demonstrate that for many artists since the early 1960s, the investigation of structure and materiality is a significant element in the production of photobooks.
The Rebellious Photobook will show classic examples of books that question the codex paradigm, such as Every Building on the Sunset Strip by Ed Ruscha, O Livrinho Vermelho do Galo de Barcelos, or Andy Warhol’s Index, but also includes more contemporary publications such as A Head with Wings by Anouk Kruithof, Until Death Do Us Part by Thomas Sauvin and Bees & The Bearable by Chen Zhe.
However, as the curator insists, it is important to stress that the ‘architectural’ investigation is not meant to override their photographic content. Form and content are equally important and contribute to the overall narrative of the book. These artists and designers want you to think about the importance of a book’s ‘objecthood’ and how its deconstruction reveals new possibilities in the construction of visual and textual narratives in book form.
PhotoResearcher, 2022
Guest Editor of an issue dedicated to the relationship between photobook making and propaganda. ... more Guest Editor of an issue dedicated to the relationship between photobook making and propaganda.
Published by the ESHPh. EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
Compendium: Journal of Comparative Studies, 2022
This paper proposes to analyse the first stages of the relationship between textual matter and ph... more This paper proposes to analyse the first stages of the relationship between textual matter and photographic images in nineteenth-century photobook practice, investigating how these two elements interacted within several books created during that period of photobook history. The examination aims to demonstrate how those photographic books embody an unexpected duality in which text and photographic images can be divergent or harmonious, questioning established academic perceptions that defined photographs as exclusively secondary in relation to text or categorically central in the construction of photographic books. In its second part, the paper examines how these different intersemiotic relationships did not immediately sustain the type of photo-textual narrative this article attributes to photobookworks, a type of photographic book defined by a complex suprasegmental, multi-layered and relational narrative predominantly based on a multimodal discourse that traverses the entirety of the book.
PhotoResearcher, 2022
Rosalind Solomon’s Portraits in the Times of AIDS (1988), Billy Howard’s Epitaphs for the Living:... more Rosalind Solomon’s Portraits in the Times of AIDS (1988), Billy Howard’s Epitaphs for the Living: Words and Images in the Time of AIDS (1989), and Nicholas and Bebe Nixon’s People with AIDS (1991)1 were created during what Alexandra Juhasz and Theodore (ted) Kerr labelled the “AIDS Crisis Culture” period, an intense phase of artistic and political activity between 1987 and 1996 defined by, according to writer and activist Edmund White, the need to “compete with (rectify, purge)” the widespread negative and stereotypical representation of People Living with AIDS (PLWAs) propagated by mass media throughout the 1980s. At the heart of these profoundly touching books is a political thrust that aims to highlight the plight and stigmatisation of PLWAs and change the public perception of the condition as a minority-related issue. Not surprisingly, the visual-verbal discourse presented in these books catalysed a complex discussion that surpassed these artists’ initial and well-intended motivations, generating a vital and pertinent debate concerning the most suitable representation of PLWAs at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This article proposes to re-examine that febrile discussion by looking at how the production and circulation of these three books shaped the reception and interpretation of the messages created by the photographers of these crucial and still timely publications.
Source. The Photographic Review, Dec 2016
On the surface - images of architecture and public space in debate. Conference proceedings / Debates Collection, 2016
The Abode of Anamnesis, 2021
Although much has been written about the history of the "photobook" in the past decade, most surv... more Although much has been written about the history of the "photobook" in the past decade, most surveys published about the subject are shaped by the photo-thematic or geo-specific compartmentalisation employed by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger in their ground-breaking study of this book practice. Since the publication of "The Photobook: A History, Vol. I" in 2004, only a few authors have attempted to explore the essential narrative mechanisms that seem to define this particular form of visual storytelling. The central aim of this essay is to uncover the historical evolution and context of the narrative mechanisms that shape "photobook" making and determine how the development of photographic printing technology enabled the transformation of photographic narrative on the page.
Vision of Contemporary Photographic Narrative’ Symposium, 2019
Despite the numerous 'photobook' surveys published in the last decade – mostly focused on expandi... more Despite the numerous 'photobook' surveys published in the last decade – mostly focused on expanding the geographical and thematic classification of photobook practice proposed by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger in The Photobook: A History (2004, 2006) – not many studies have attempted to trace and expose the inner workings of this particular type of 'photobook'. This lecture proposes to counteract that scarcity by exploring the material and artistic circumstances that seem to have shaped the emergence of a specific form of narrative montage on the photographically illustrated page. The talk will begin by examining the materialisation of what Alex Sweetman has designated as photobookwork during the 1920s. This will be followed by an analysis of photobookwork practice during the 1960s and 1970s and the impact of appropriation and conceptual art upon the artistic use of photographic images in book form. The last segment of the lecture investigates how these two critical shifts in photobook history inform contemporary photobookwork making.
PHRC Annual Conference '18
It is now widely known that the first six decades of photographic practice were shaped by the con... more It is now widely known that the first six decades of photographic practice were shaped by the continuous development and improvement of photographic printing methods. However, the impact of those printing codes upon photographic illustration in book form have rarely been discussed. As argued in this paper, the continual development and discovery of printing codes, in particular photomechanical printing processes, not only shaped the material relationship between photography and the page, but also conditioned the emergence and maturation of photographic narrative in book form. Until the development of halftone printing in the late nineteenth century, the production and design of photographically illustrated publications was defined by the impossibility to fully integrate letterpress and photographic printing. Although amply featured in books, tipped-in photographic images were, in most cases, interleaved at a later stage of the volume’s production. A process that, as argued in this paper, impeded the full development of the cumulative and relational visual narrative this essay associates with photobookwork (Sweetman, 1985, 1986) practice. Although halftone printing did transform visual narrative in photographically illustrated cultural magazines, it did not generate a universal transformation of the illustrated page. Fine art photographic publications, in particular Pictorialist photobooks and magazines, for instance, reluctantly embraced this new form of photographic reproduction. This paper attempts, therefore, to examine the causes behind this discrepancy by looking at how the mechanical nature of halftone reproduction transformed visual narrative in cultural magazines and simultaneously ossified photobook practice until the materialization of the photobookwork format in the early 20th century.
Porto School of Architecture
PhotobookWeek Aarhus 2015
This short presentation will discuss what seems to be a contemporary tendency to question and dec... more This short presentation will discuss what seems to be a contemporary tendency to question and deconstruct the physical limits of the photobook. What does this specific practice say about current photobook-making? Are we witnessing the emergence of a different type of photobook and photobook practitioner? What separates these unconventional titles from traditional photobooks? Using several case studies, this talk will not only attempt to answer the above questions but also examine some of the central characteristics of photobook practice.
Belfast Exposed
For this event, Jose Luis Neves will focus on the Ulster University Irish Photobook Collection, d... more For this event, Jose Luis Neves will focus on the Ulster University Irish Photobook Collection, discussing the initial stages of the project, methodological and research procedures, the acquisition process, the current stage of the project and plans for the future of the collection in terms of acquisitions and its public and academic visibility.
PhotoIreland 2013
The main objective of this presentation is to engage in a debate about the blurring of boundaries... more The main objective of this presentation is to engage in a debate about the blurring of boundaries in bookwork practice after the 1960s and the need to consider investigative perspectives that go beyond the photo-historical view that currently defines the identity of the photobook.
Dublin Institute of Technology - School of Media
University of Ulster - School of Art & Design
Belfast Exposed
This lunchtime lecture by José Luís Neves will outline the historical relationship between archit... more This lunchtime lecture by José Luís Neves will outline the historical relationship between architecture, the photo book and photography.
Curator, 2021
On 25 April 1974, Portuguese fascism was overthrown by a military coup. What ensued in the follow... more On 25 April 1974, Portuguese fascism was overthrown by a military coup. What ensued in the following five years was a complex and turbulent transition into democracy. The photobooks, pamphlets and postcards included in this exhibition are a record of that period and show how these objects functioned as instruments of celebration, propaganda, protest, recollection and questioning. These characteristics often overlapped in a single publication creating a powerful visual archive of the frenetic and unpredictable succession of events that marked this tense and exuberant period in recent Portuguese history.
By gathering and re-activating this vibrant material, this show reveals the crucial role these publications had in documenting and preserving the diverse ideological battlegrounds and key socio-political events that shaped Portugal’s initial steps towards democracy.
This exhibition is the first public display of a vast photobook selection that will be included in a study dedicated to contemporary Portuguese photobook practice to be published in 2022.
Curator, 2019
Taking into consideration the history of photobook practice, one could argue that most photobooks... more Taking into consideration the history of photobook practice, one could argue that most photobooks use the codex conservatively. However, it is possible to find exceptions. The books displayed in this small exhibition demonstrate that for many artists since the early 1960s, the investigation of structure and materiality is a significant element in the production of photobooks.
The Rebellious Photobook will show classic examples of books that question the codex paradigm, such as Every Building on the Sunset Strip by Ed Ruscha, O Livrinho Vermelho do Galo de Barcelos, or Andy Warhol’s Index, but also includes more contemporary publications such as A Head with Wings by Anouk Kruithof, Until Death Do Us Part by Thomas Sauvin and Bees & The Bearable by Chen Zhe.
However, as the curator insists, it is important to stress that the ‘architectural’ investigation is not meant to override their photographic content. Form and content are equally important and contribute to the overall narrative of the book. These artists and designers want you to think about the importance of a book’s ‘objecthood’ and how its deconstruction reveals new possibilities in the construction of visual and textual narratives in book form.
Curator, 2016
Centred on the acclaimed Portuguese photobook, 'Lisbon, City of Sadness and Joy' (1959), this exh... more Centred on the acclaimed Portuguese photobook, 'Lisbon, City of Sadness and Joy' (1959), this exhibition highlights the bold and groundbreaking nature of this publication. Showcasing printed matter associated with the three iterations of 'Lisbon…' (1959, 1982 and 2009) the exhibit also correlates Victor Palla and Costa Martins collaborative project with a broad selection of Portuguese and international photographic publications published between 1939 and 1962.
Assistant Curator, 2012
Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present is the National Gallery’s first major exhibition of ... more Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present is the National Gallery’s first major exhibition of photography. This groundbreaking show explores the relationship between historical painting, early photography of the mid-19th century, and some of the most exciting work being done by photographers today.
Belgian Platform for Photobooks, 2020
"By converting photobooks into a ‘container’ of information, Parr and Badger’s classification imp... more "By converting photobooks into a ‘container’ of information, Parr and Badger’s classification imposes a divorce between content (author) and the physical attributes of the book (design, printing, editing, etc.). A separation that has its roots in Parr and Badger’s explicit and laudable desire to not only establish the photographer as an ‘auteur’ but also the ‘photobook’ as the ‘literary novel of photographically illustrated books’. However, while such a classification might be sufficient to describe past photobook production, it is perhaps too restrictive to describe present-day photobook-making."
In a first in a series of commissioned guest contributions to the Belgian Platform for Photobooks, Jose Luis Neves wonders where to draw the line between photobooks and artist's books.
ECHOES FROM THE VAULT, 2018
The next of our Visiting Scholar 2018 reports is from José Luís Neves, Lecturer in Photography at... more The next of our Visiting Scholar 2018 reports is from José Luís Neves, Lecturer in Photography at Ulster University. In this report José shares with us his highlights from this summer’s visit to St Andrews – one of the photographic albums in the Library’s Special Collections.
Proposing an ontological division based on the terms photobook and photobookwork, the main goal o... more Proposing an ontological division based on the terms photobook and photobookwork, the main goal of this thesis is to examine and ascertain the historical, material and conceptual characteristics of the latter book practices. Conducted from a critical perspective, the analysis that structures this project aims in the first place to demonstrate how a series of interconnected material, cultural and aesthetic developments enabled the emergence and maturation of photobook practice between the late 1830s and the early 1890s. The project also explores how the materialization of photographically illustrated cultural magazines in the late nineteenth-century catalysed a transformation of visual discourse and literacy that later enabled the full development of photobookwork practice. Importantly, this thesis suggests that photographically illustrated book making fully branched into two distinct forms in the mid 1920s. Whereas until that period photographic illustration in book form was predominantly rooted in the single photographic image, modernist photobook makers, greatly influenced by the visual discourse of photographically illustrated periodicals, developed a photographically illustrated book practice centred on cumulative and relational photographic narratives that traversed the entirety of the book. Ultimately, this project attempts to recalibrate the somewhat monolithic and nebulous perception of photobook history proposed in recent general ‘photobook’ scholarship, while simultaneously contributing towards a better understanding of the historical, material and ontological characteristics that define the two forms of photographic illustration in book form discussed throughout this thesis.
Livros de Fotografia em Portugal: Da Revolução ao Presente, 2023
"Livros de Fotografia em Portugal: Da Revolução ao Presente" proposes to immerse the reader in th... more "Livros de Fotografia em Portugal: Da Revolução ao Presente" proposes to immerse the reader in the fertile history of the Portuguese photography book from the 1970s onwards. It chooses the photobook as an object of study as it is a vehicle for artistic and documentary creation, and point of convergence for collaboration between photographers, designers, writers and publishers. Divided into seven thematic chapters, it analyzes the production of books during the Revolution, the relationship between photographic image and text, the archival and institutional dimension of the photography book, the material and performative qualities of this editorial and artistic practice, as well as the idea of territory and identity. Offering a comprehensive contextualization of the selected books, it encompasses historical, political, artistic and social aspects, with the aim of contributing to an innovative reading of the history of photography in Portugal.
Compendium : Journal of Comparative Studies = Revista de Estudos Comparatistas