Reframing the Networks and Visualities of Imperial War Photography: Felice Beato in Asia
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Hist, Anthrop, Philos & Politics
Abstract
Reframing the Networks and Visualities of Imperial War Photography: Felice Beato in Asia
This fellowship at the Freer|Sackler will be used to develop path-breaking digital techniques for the analysis and display of historical photography.
In collaboration with the National Army Museum in London, this project will build on the applicant's research into the historical photography of Britain's imperial wars in Asia in the nineteenth century, as photographed by the Italo-British photographic pioneer Felice Beato (1832-1909). Famous for his photographs of the Indian Rebellion in 1858 and of the Second Opium War in China in 1860, Beato photographed other imperial conflicts in Asia and beyond, including the Third Anglo-Burmese War, and America's short-lived invasion of Korea in 1871. He had close links to British commanders and to individual soldiers, and was one of the first semi-official war photographers.
Beato is known for his willingness to photograph the dead bodies of (non-Western) soldiers, and for his manipulation of the battle scenes he documented, but his influence on contemporaries is unclear. The applicant will develop innovative digital techniques to reconstruct the social networks of Felice Beato and his war photography in order to understand how these photographs were produced and viewed, and how they helped to shape the visual world of empire in the nineteenth century. The applicant will use creative digital techniques to interpret and exhibit Beato's photographs in unexpected ways, identifying stories of anti-colonial resistance, and using design approaches to reveal events and interpretations half-hidden behind the photograph's dominant narrative.
Through this fellowship, the applicant will be able to work collaboratively with the Freer|Sackler and other Smithsonian institutions to develop these digital techniques and to disseminate them widely among curators and historians.
This fellowship at the Freer|Sackler will be used to develop path-breaking digital techniques for the analysis and display of historical photography.
In collaboration with the National Army Museum in London, this project will build on the applicant's research into the historical photography of Britain's imperial wars in Asia in the nineteenth century, as photographed by the Italo-British photographic pioneer Felice Beato (1832-1909). Famous for his photographs of the Indian Rebellion in 1858 and of the Second Opium War in China in 1860, Beato photographed other imperial conflicts in Asia and beyond, including the Third Anglo-Burmese War, and America's short-lived invasion of Korea in 1871. He had close links to British commanders and to individual soldiers, and was one of the first semi-official war photographers.
Beato is known for his willingness to photograph the dead bodies of (non-Western) soldiers, and for his manipulation of the battle scenes he documented, but his influence on contemporaries is unclear. The applicant will develop innovative digital techniques to reconstruct the social networks of Felice Beato and his war photography in order to understand how these photographs were produced and viewed, and how they helped to shape the visual world of empire in the nineteenth century. The applicant will use creative digital techniques to interpret and exhibit Beato's photographs in unexpected ways, identifying stories of anti-colonial resistance, and using design approaches to reveal events and interpretations half-hidden behind the photograph's dominant narrative.
Through this fellowship, the applicant will be able to work collaboratively with the Freer|Sackler and other Smithsonian institutions to develop these digital techniques and to disseminate them widely among curators and historians.
People |
ORCID iD |
Emma Reisz (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Reisz E
(2024)
Photoanthropocene: The decentered lens of colonial photography
in Curator: The Museum Journal
Title | Beato photographic database |
Description | Digital catalogue of Beato photography. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Facilitates research into Felice Beato. |
URL | http://reframingimperialwar.net |
Description | National Army Museum |
Organisation | National Army Museum |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We worked closely with the National Army Museum to understand their photographic holdings more closely. |
Collaborator Contribution | NAM contributed to the project by providing us with access to their collections and to their research materials. We worked closely together to extend the digitisation of their materials. |
Impact | Reframing Imperial War digital catalogue |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art (formerly Freer|Sackler) |
Organisation | Smithsonian Institution |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Research into photographic collection held at the Freer|Sackler. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support for research in Washington D.C., and access to facilities at the Freer|Sackler. |
Impact | Reframing Imperial War digital catalogue |
Start Year | 2019 |
Title | RIW: Omeka S theme |
Description | Reframing Imperial War is an Omeka S theme with second-level navigation, developed for the Reframing Imperial War project and available for general use and modification. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Use in the Reframing Imperial War website |
URL | https://github.com/reframing-imperial-war/riw |