Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 32, No. 630.
            Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London
                   Hosted by King's Digital Lab
                       www.dhhumanist.org
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        Date: 2019-04-25 10:44:21+00:00
        From: Gray, Jonathan 
        Subject: Talk: "Taking Stock: Researching Generic Images Across Representation, Circulation And Recontextualization", Giorgia Aiello (University of Leeds), Wed 1st May, 4pm

Taking Stock: Researching Generic Images Across Representation,
Circulation And Recontextualization
Giorgia Aiello (University of Leeds)

Wed, 1 May 2019, 4pm
The Old Anatomy Lecture Theatre, K6.29, Strand Campus, King's
College London, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

Register: https://generic-images.eventbrite.co.uk


How can we study the meanings and circulation of generic images online?
Join us for a public talk with Giorgia Aiello (University of Leeds).

The bulk of images that we encounter in everyday life are generic images
from global image banks like Getty Images and Shutterstock.
Nevertheless, pre-produced, ready-to-use stock images are most often
overlooked rather than looked at. Whether it is because of its poor
quality, extreme blandness, lack of veracity, or exploitative cheapness,
stock imagery is frequently discounted as insignificant and rarely taken
seriously. Yet, in spite of all current emphasis on user-generated
imagery as a dominant mode of communication in contemporary visual
culture, we quite literally swim in an ocean of images that were made
for and are distributed by a handful of corporations.

Following Paul Frosh's groundbreaking work on pre-digital stock
photography, I argue that stock images are not just the 'wallpaper' of
consumer culture, but are also central to the ambient image environment
that defines our visual world. Key challenges in researching stock
images are linked to their very essence in this regard, that is, their
genericity. In this talk, I will outline some of the ways in which my
collaborative work attempts to tackle some of these challenges in order
to examine the meanings and implications of stock imagery. Through a
combination of digital methods, visual analysis and interviews, this
work links considerations about representation, circulation and
recontextualization together with aspects of production to develop an
empirical, critical understanding of generic images and image banks. To
illustrate this approach, I will draw from three recent collaborative
projects on feminist stock photography, generic visuals in the news, and
representations of teens and technology in news media.


Bio: Giorgia Aiello (@giorgishka) is Associate Professor and Director
of Research and Innovation in the School of Media and Communication at
the University of Leeds. Giorgia's work focuses on the politics and
potentials of visual, multimodal, and material communication. Her book
Visual Communication: Understanding Images in Media Culture (with Katy
Parry) will be published by SAGE at the end of 2019./

This event is part of an ongoing seminar series on "critical inquiry
with and about the digital" hosted by the Department of Digital
Humanities, King's College London
(https://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/ddh/index.aspx).

If you tweet about the event you can use the #kingsdh
hashtag or mention @kingsdh. If you'd like to get notifications of 
future events you can sign up to
this mailing list
(https://mailman.kcl.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/kingsdh-events).

--
Jonathan Gray | jonathangray.org
(http://jonathangray.org/) |
@jwyg
(http://twitter.com/jwyg

Lecturer in Critical Infrastructure Studies
Department of Digital Humanities
King's College London




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