eidolon – a phantom, an apparition, or an ideal image
Everyday photography is one of the most widespread, but underrepresented genre of the history of photographic imaging. It represents the larger parts of our visual heritage from the last 200 years, but its cultural importance is often overlooked.
With eidolon journal we want to establish an online platform to showcase, study, analyse, and appreciate vernacular photography & banal imaging from every part of the world.
For the site of eidolon centre, an institution that organises exhibitions, events and talks on the topic of everyday photography click here.
eidolon – a phantom, an apparition, or an ideal image
Everyday photography is one of the most widespread, but underrepresented genre of the history of photographic imaging. It represents the larger parts of our visual heritage from the last 200 years, but its cultural importance is often overlooked.
With eidolon journal we want to establish an online platform to showcase, study, analyse, and appreciate vernacular photography & banal imaging from every part of the world.
For the site of eidolon centre, an institution that organises exhibitions, events and talks on the topic of everyday photography click here.
Eidolon Club vol. 5 – Narcissus in Bloom: book launch & artist talk with Mattie Colquhoun
Watch the video of Mattie Colquhoun's lecture and the following discussion from our fifth Eidolon Club event, held on 13 November, 2024.
“The use of surveillance and control by these apparatuses is dangerous in general for a healthy civic society around the world”
– Interview with Christopher Gregory-Rivera
New York City-based Puerto Rican photographer Christopher Gregory-Rivera’s 2023 photo-book El Gobierno Te Odia ("The Government Hates You") delves into one of the longest-running surveillance programs in Puerto Rican history. Over a decade, Gregory-Rivera examined more than forty thousand surveillance images and documents produced between 1940 and 1987. Designed to resemble a government dossier, the publication utilizes risograph printing and binding bolts to replicate the look and feel of archival materials. It features previously classified content from the National Archives of Puerto Rico, including a surveillance manual detailing monitoring techniques.
“I’m more interested in the stories, the experiences, the memories, and the emotions surrounding photographs than I am in what they look like”
Interview with Annebella Pollen
Annebella Pollen is Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton, UK, where she researches undervalued archives and untold stories in art and design history.
Interview with New York City-based artist Pacifico Silano
“Archives are all about decisions and whoever puts together an archive decides what is shown and what is forgotten. The archive is not a neutral space.”
Releated Articles
December’s Eidolon Shelf picks – A curated Holiday collection
Our Eidolon Shelf project has relocated to Művház, Budapest where it is now available for visitors to explore. This new location features a curated selection of photo-books and photography theory literature, handpicked by us to inspire and inform anyone interested in the art and history of everyday photographic practices.
Headwinds –
Short stories and essays on photographs selected from the Horus Archives
In collaboration with Hungarian cinematographer Sándor Kardos’ vernacular photography collection, the Horus Archives, we invited three everyday imaging enthusiasts who have a way with words to select a photograph from the archive and write us a text in the format of their choice. Here is text one by Zsombor Aurél Biró, Hungarian prose, film and drama writer.
Death in Pest –
Short stories and essays on photographs selected from the Horus Archives
In collaboration with Hungarian cinematographer Sándor Kardos’ vernacular photography collection, the Horus Archives, we invited three everyday imaging enthusiasts who have a way with words to select a photograph from the archive and write us a text in the format of their choice. Here is text one by Zsófia Kergyó, art historian and editor of Artmagazin Online.
Authors
Endre Cserna
Head of Programming at Eidolon
Róza Tekla Szilágyi
Director of Eidolon
Viola Fátyol
Photographer and visual artist
buhera klub
Architectural theory collective run by Anna Seress & Anna Zsoldos
Joanna Zylinska
Professor of Media Philosophy + Critical Digital Practice at King’s College London
Róna Kopeczky
Curator
Endre Cserna
Head of Programming at Eidolon
Róza Tekla Szilágyi
Director of Eidolon
György Simó
Founder of Eidolon
Szabolcs Barakonyi, DLA
Curator at Eidolon
Joanna Zylinska
Professor of Media Philosophy + Critical Digital Practice at King’s College London
Joachim Schmid
Berlin-based artist and photographic critic
Articles
“The ability to look provided a more comprehensive view of life in the Holy City.”
Interview with curator Diana Ghazaryan
A recent Budapest exhibition, "Capturing Eternity" highlighted the pioneering work of Armenian photographers in Jerusalem. Curated by Ph.D. student Diana Ghazaryan, the exhibition featured images from some of the Holy City’s earliest photographers, who played a key role in shaping Jerusalem’s photographic tradition. In this interview, we spoke with the curator about this cultural legacy, the connection between faith and photography, and how photography has safeguarded the memory of Jerusalem’s Armenian community.
November’s Eidolon Shelf pick – Mattie Colquhoun: Narcissus in Bloom: An Alternative History of the Selfie
Book Recommendation
The Eidolon Shelf showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our November pick is Mattie Colquhoun’s latest book Narcissus in Bloom: An Alternative History of the Selfie that presents an alternative interpretation of the selfie, positioning it as a reflection of broader political discontent and a desire for self-transformation, rather than solely a postmodern pathology.
“A selfie becomes a sort of message to the world then it is just gone.”
Interview with Claire Raymond, author of the book The Selfie, Temporality, and Contemporary Photography
In this interview we talked about the significance of this widely utilised image-taking practice almost all generations take part in in trying to highlight the reason: why do we keep taking selfies?
“What is striking about private photographs is that they are ambivalent.”
Interview with experimental filmmaker Péter Lichter
The powerful, uncanny visuality of damaged, half-decayed frames building up Péter Lichter’s films might be familiar to many of us. As a director of captivating found footage films, Lichter has become an acknowledged character of the Hungarian and international experimental film scene.
As the application deadline is almost here we asked the first Eidolon Grant's jury why researching, showcasing and in general, talking about everyday imaging is valuable to us as a society, and to them as professionals. Read their inspiring answers and do not forget: the deadline is 30 August midnight!
Editor's Letter – November, 2024
Tim Carpenter, Erving Goffmann and the culture of the selfie
"This act of knitting the inner to the outer is something that gives as an opportunity to analyse when thinking about the networked working of self portraits and selfies, the way we represent ourselves through the digital channels available to us."
October's Eidolon Shelf pick – Roland Barthes: Camera Lucida
Book recommendation
The Eidolon Shelf showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our October recommendation is Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes, in celebration of its new Hungarian translation.
On Pál Zolnay’s 1972 film “Fotográfia”
A video essay
On October 24, during the 4th Eidolon Club event, we screened Pál Zolnay’s documentary drama Fotográfia at the Cirko-Gejzír cinema in Budapest, accompanied by a video essay created by us. You can watch it now online with English subtitles.
Editor's Letter – October, 2024
Plato & the spooky season
As we find ourselves deep into autumn—the spooky season—we’d like to recommend a Japanese-American horror film that centres around the Internet, infinite loops of images, and monitors.
“If you look deep inside a family’s archive, you will find that people very rarely use the camera to capture a non-positive event”
Interview with Tihomir Stoyanov
Started by Tihomir Stoyanov and Johanna Trayanova in 2019, the main mission of the Bulgarian Visual Archive (BVA) is to digitally preserve and share the visual heritage of 20th-century Bulgaria, including photographic and video materials, as well as to provide imagery for researchers, historians, journalists, enthusiasts, and artists. The online, open-access, and everyday life-focused archive’s intention is to show an impartial image of the country’s socialist past, and it also aims to build a community around similar initiatives. Based in Sofia, the BVA has over 100,000 found or donated negatives and slides.
“As societies, we are much more image-savvy than we used to be, and children grow up in visual cultures which they are also very adept at deciphering”
Interview with researcher and writer Melissa Nolas
Visual sociologist Melissa Nolas is the Director of the Childhood Publics Research Programme and the Children’s Photography Archive. The London-based institution offers a digital infrastructure for the collection and curation of these image materials, and for the research of children's visual cultures, children's photography, and visual ethics.
Editor's Letter – September, 2024
On photographs taken and left in space
There is something unique about the Super-Wide Hasselblad camera and its 38mm lens, which Aldrin used to take the photograph with: NASA had an ongoing collaboration with the company since the beginning of the sixties. During the Gemini IV mission in 1965, the first spacewalk was documented by a Hasselblad – and the collaboration led to the historic images of the Apollo mission’s moon landing, also by Buzz Aldrin.
“The only thing to do in life is to be curious.”
Interview with Jean-Marie Donat
The Paris-born vernacular photography collector, founder of the the publishing house Éditions Innocences and co-founder of the Vernacular Social Club describes himself as a “ventriloquist” photographer. After showcasing his collection at Les Rencontres d'Arles twice during the previous decade the exhibition highlighting materials from Studio Rex, a photo studio that was located at the heart of Belsunce, Marseille’s working-class neighborhood is on view at C/O Berlin. We talked to Jean-Marie about his motivations, collection and reasons to visit fleamarket after fleamarket to unearth new pieces for his collection photograph by photograph.
Rolls and condiments
Interview with Matthieu Nicol about his exhibition in Arles titled Fashion Army
Following his book project titled Better Food For Our Fighting Men, the French picture editor and collector of poor images, Matthieu Nicol takes an active part in this year’s Les Rencontres d’Arles. Besides being part of the jury selecting the respected festival’s winner photography books, he is presenting his new exhibition titled Fashion Army. We met up with him during the festival’s opening week in Arles’ famous Bar le Tambourin.
September’s Eidolon Shelf pick – Nathan Jurgenson: The Social Photo
Book Recommendation
The Eidolon Shelf showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our recommendation for September is The Social Photo by social media theorist Nathan Jurgenson, a 2019 book that quickly gained popularity for its concise yet comprehensive exploration of the evolving field of contemporary media.
Eidolon Centre for Everyday Photography launches its advisory board
Announcement
The Eidolon Advisory Board will play a pivotal role in providing comprehensive guidance, valuable insights, and constructive feedback essential to shaping our growth strategy, refining programs, and enhancing outcomes. We are delighted to introduce the members of our advisory board for the 2024/2025 season:
Geoffrey Batchen, Andrew Dewdney,
and Oksana Sarkisova.
Let us introduce the jury of the first Eidolon Grant!
Announcement
Click to see who will review the applications and select the winners of the first Eidolon Grant.
Editor’s Letter – August, 2024
On Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1979 film Camera Buff
In this article, you can read the editorial from our latest newsletter, written by Eidolon editor Endre Cserna, which was sent out on August 1st, 2024. The piece discusses Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1979 film Camera Buff.
“Why are girls denied climbing trees?”
Interview with journalist and curator Laura Leonelli – Collectors & their collection vol. 4.
Laura Leonelli’s 2023 book I Won’t Come Down: Women Who Climb Trees and Look into the Distance, published by Postcart Edizioni, collects a hundred anonymous photographic portraits of women climbing trees from the late 19th century to the 1970s and includes texts from feminist authors.
“Looking quizzically at the medium”
Interview with artist Meggan Gould
Meggan Gould, an artist and professor who lives and works in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, several years ago walked into the California Museum of Photography's collection and accidentally opened the back of one camera among thousands on the shelves – and what happened afterward inspired the book 7 Pictures Remaining.
Editor’s Letter – July, 2024
brat summer
In this article, you can read the editorial from our latest newsletter written by Eidolon-editor Endre Cserna, which were sent out on July 1st, 2024. We publish our monthly editor's letters, in which we reflect on recent events, approximately two weeks after the newsletter is out. This month, we took a brief look at the visual characteristics and everyday photographic aspects of Charli XCX's latest album campaign.
As If – A crash course on the origins and importance of the snapshot aesthetic
An imperfect, uncomposed, and spontaneous visual language
The snapshot aesthetic – an imperfect, uncomposed, and spontaneous visual language in photography, typically associated with amateur imagemakers – has been adopted across various fields, from contemporary art photography to commercial advertising campaigns. Emerging from vernacular photography, often found in family albums, the snapshot aesthetic has initiated a whole institutionalized art canon, opening new ways of perceiving mainstream image-making.
“My flatmate has an average screen time of 14 hours, and she’s doing great.”
Interview with Zurich-based artist Gaia Del Santo
Gaia Del Santo’s artistic approach draws inspiration from the diverse and formative phenomena of the online world, consumerism, and social media cultures. Besides sculpture, textile, and video, she incorporates aesthetic and photographic elements of online platforms, internet trends, and memes into her analytical yet spirited multimedia compositions.
PET SOUNDS. Animals and musicians on record sleeves
Collected and edited by Alberto Vieceli – Collectors & their collection vol. 3.
The book PET SOUNDS edited by Alberto Vieceli was shortlisted in this year's Arles Book Awards in the historical book category. The volume showcases 320 record covers that have one thing in common: they depict musicians and animals. Take a look at our selection of twenty record covers from the publication!
June’s Eidolon Shelf pick – Joachim Schmid
Book recommendation
Eidolon Shelf represents a collaborative effort between Eidolon and one of our favourite places in Budapest: ISBN books + gallery, a contemporary art bookstore and a gallery space. This initiative showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our recommendation for June is the photo-books of Joachim Schmid, an artist based in Berlin, being a distinguished figure – perhaps even a doyen – in the field of vernacular photography and appropriation art.
Editor’s Letter – June, 2024
Wolves, white bears and memories
In this article, you can read the editorial from our latest newsletter written by Eidolon-director Róza Tekla Szilágyi, which were sent out on June 4th, 2024. We publish our monthly editor's letters, in which we reflect on recent events, approximately two weeks after the newsletter is out.
May’s Eidolon Shelf pick – Fraglich Publishing
Book recommendation
Eidolon Shelf represents a collaborative effort between Eidolon and one of our favourite places in Budapest: ISBN books + gallery, a contemporary art bookstore and a gallery space. This initiative showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our recommendation for May is the publications of Fraglich Publishing.
“Amateurism is in the DNA of photography”
Interview with Núria F. Rius, curator of the exhibition titled The domestic camera. Amateur photography in Catalonia (ca. 1880-1936)
The exhibition on view in Barcelona reviews the phenomenon of amateur photography in the late 19th and early 20th century,
Editor’s Letter – May, 2024
A. Robert Kaufman and the Posographe
In this article, you can read the editorial from our latest newsletter written by Eidolon-director Róza Tekla Szilágyi, which were sent out on May 2nd, 2024.
April’s Eidolon Shelf pick – Annebella Pollen: More than a snapshot. A visual history of photo wallets
Book recommendation
Eidolon Shelf represents a collaborative effort between Eidolon and one of our favourite places in Budapest: ISBN books + gallery, a contemporary art bookstore and a gallery space. This initiative showcases a monthly selection of books closely aligned with the realms of vernacular photography, banal imaging, and contemporary photographic theories. Our goal is to popularise knowledge in these specific areas through the titles that we enjoyed and have influenced our thinking in the field of everyday imaging. Each month, a featured publication takes center stage on the Eidolon Shelf at the ISBN store, alongside other carefully curated books which are available for purchase on the spot.
Eidolon Club vol. 1 – ‘And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine’ screening and discussion
Event summary
Historical footages of the first photographic experiments and familiar-looking, viral clips flashing before our eyes, telling the story of how the invention and technological development of the camera fundamentally influenced human behaviour. The documentary titled And the 'King Said: What a Fantastic Machine' tackles the problems rooted in our often-lacking understanding of how images work. The work of directors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck was the topic of the first Eidolon Club event, discussed by professionals working in the field of visual culture.
“We want to display the variability of Jewish identity”
Interview with the team behind J Photo Archive – Collectors & their collection vol. 2.
J Photo Archive is a platform committed to preserving the photographic heritage of Jewish history and culture in Hungary. Its primary goal is to curate a diverse collection of photographs, with the potential for expansion through new, submitted materials from various sources.
Editor’s Letter – March & April, 2024
Don't miss out on the editor's letters from our latest newsletters!
In this article, you'll find two editorials from our latest newsletters, which were sent out on April 2nd and March 4th, 2024. Moving forward, we will publish our monthly editor's letters, in which we always reflect on recent events, approximately two weeks after the newsletter is out.
On visual literacy and framing the world through the camera’s lens
Interview with Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck, directors of the movie 'And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine'
The film is on a mission to measure the depth of humanity’s infatuation with framing the world through the camera’s lens; chronicling how we went from capturing the image of a backyard to a multi-billion-euro content industry in just 200 years.
About the shifting line between the private and the public memories of the Soviet period
Interview with Oksana Sarkisova and Olga Shevchenko, authors of the book titled In Visible Presence. Soviet Afterlives in Family Photos.
The book is a vivid outline of the role that family archives play in the almost constantly changing zeitgeist – it does all this in such a manner that we can structurally understand the individual ways that inspired, catalysed and influenced the ways of everyday photography practices during the Soviet-era.
The Photo Vault’s new episode covers Eidolon’s conference on everyday imaging
Eidolon's director, Róza Tekla Szilágyi feauterd in the Vernacular Social Club's new podcast
The Photo Vault is a newly started podcast series run by the team behind Vernacular Social Club – a journey into Vernacular Photography, archives, collecting and photo books. The host of the podcast is Lukas Birk, founder of Fraglich Publishing, co-founder of the Vernacular Social Club.
"We are living in the image world"
Interview with Andrew Dewdney, co-founder of the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image
Andrew Dewdney, a research professor at London South Bank University, specialises in examining the paradoxes within contemporary visual culture through his extensive theoretical work. He is committed to developing systematic methods to unravel and comprehend these multifaceted complexities. His research primarily focuses on how computation has transformed the photographic image and how museum studies can aid in understanding the challenges related to heritages, collections, and archives in a born-digital world.
Interview with Miklós Tamási
About finding the material that led to the exhibition titled Budapest – The First Golden Age
The photography exhibition displaying more than one hundred works in the Hungarian National Gallery celebrating the 150th birthday of Budapest is a huge success – so much so that the institution just extended the exhibition until 7 April.
The four minutes of anticipation
Interview with Sue Smallwood about her collection of photo booth pictures – Collectors & their collection vol. 1.
Focusing on the collectors and safekeepers, Eidolon Journal starts a new series where we showcase a unique archive and collection every month! In the first part of this new series we’ve talked to Sue Smallwood, whose collection of photo booth pictures captures raw emotions, offering glimpses into people's lives that we can all relate to.
On the liquid time of photography
Summary of the In Visible Presence book launch
With the passing decades, the changes in memory politics require us to constantly reflect back on and contextualise certain parts of our national history. The photograph functioning as a kind of lieu de mémoire can help us either recall bygone events or create a subsequent connection to our ancestors’ past. Showcased on bookshelves, organised in numbered albums or kept in shoeboxes, everyday photographs are especially powerful tools to engage with stories that are often missing from history books – the private narratives of ordinary people.
Sándor Kereki – Budapest in the seventies from a boy’s perspective
Curatorial text from the exhibition
Our exhibition titled Sándor Kereki – Budapest in the seventies from a boy’s perspective was on view from December 7, 2023 to February 4, 2024 in Capa Center, Budapest. Sándor Kereki was born in 1952 and at the age of 16, while still in high school, he started taking pictures with the camera his father gave him for his birthday. He never studied photography in a formal school setting.
Buhera as vernacularity
A theoretical attempt to emancipate vernacularity in architecture
We asked the team of 'buhera klub' to shed a light on the origin of the phrase vernacular architecture so we can gain more knowledge about theoretical parallels that lie between the before mentioned architectural practices and everyday forms of photography.
Whither the vernacular?
Videos
Watch Dr Geoffrey Batchen's keynote speech at our event 'Talks on everyday imaging – the analogue and digital realm of the vernacular'.
A short note on wrist-spotting
Op-ed
The most interesting visual experience for me last year happened on the most surprising platform, and it has continued to captivate my imagination ever since, especially considering that the images themselves may not necessarily be interesting at first glance.
But what makes Mariska Travnik so unique?
Unsung Heroes of Photography
Her works are preserved in public museum collections and have also been exhibited, she was subject to ethnographic studies and a TV show on social photography, yet, Mariska Travnik’s name may not ring a bell. While her life’s work has literally been taken off from the attic, it is still gathering dust, even though Mariska’s artistic career is one of the unique and unexpected wonders in the history of Hungarian photography.
Interview with photographer Sándor Kereki
Video
Tune in to our video with Sándor Kereki as he shares insights into his photographic legacy and the nearly lost body of work currently exhibited at the Capa Center in Budapest. Our exhibition Sándor Kereki – Budapest in the seventies from a boy’s perspective is open until February 4, 2024.
Unboxing the Horus Archives
Event summary
Curious gazes were roaming over the unassuming shoeboxes placed in the middle of the table. The small studio space of Capa Center slowly filled up with excitement as people were waiting for their lids to open and the stories locked inside them to unfold.
Crash course on analogue everyday photography – vernacular photography outside the realm of the digital
Videos
Watch all three presentations of the first segment of our event 'Talks on everyday imaging – the analogue and digital realm of the vernacular' featuring Michal Simunek, Lukas Birk & Nigel Shephard.
Contemporary/digital everyday photography and questions of mass imaging/social photo
Videos
Watch the presentations of the second segment of our event 'Talks on everyday imaging – the analogue and digital realm of the vernacular' featuring Annebella Pollen, Joanna Zylinska & Joachim Schmid.
Questions about showcasing vernacular photography vol. 3 – Focusing on personality rights
Roundtable summary
Not only copyright, but also personality rights could pose a serious challenge for institutions showcasing everyday photographs. Since these photos were taken of and by private individuals, their publishing can understandably cause personal inconveniences. Through the discussion of lawyer Bea Bodrogi and the director of Eidolon Centre Róza Tekla Szilágyi, the third event organized by Eidolon Centre and Capa Centre dived into the complexities of personality rights.
Everyday and vernacular photography archives in Hungary
Videos
This week, we present two recordings from our 'Talks on everyday imaging – the analogue and digital realm of the vernacular’ event's Hungarian segment: an insightful lecture by photo critic Judit Gellér on the history of Hungarian vernacular photography and a video featuring Miklós Tamási, co-founder of the region's most significant photographic archive, Fortepan.
“Navigating the complexities of working with images, especially those depicting other cultures, poses numerous challenges”
Interview
Austrian visual artist & publisher Lukas Birk recently visited Budapest as a guest lecturer for our event, 'Talks on Everyday Imaging.' Simultaneously, he launched a new platform, Vernacular Social Club, an association dedicated to promoting and disseminating vernacular documents. The club's founding members also include Jean-Marie Donat, Thomas Sauvin and Christophe Thiebaut.
Questions about showcasing vernacular photography vol. 2 – Focusing on copyright
Roundtable summary
When someone takes up the challenge of showcasing photographs on a website or as part of a print publication, more often than not faces the limitations of copyright. Therefore, the second panel discussion focused on the detailed explanation of the current copyright system using Fortepan as a case study. The guests were Dr. Flóra Gubicz copyright lawyer and Miklós Tamási, the founder of Fortepan.
Interview with visual anthropologist & critic András Bán
Hungarian Interview Series (with English subtitles)
András Bán (1951), visual anthropologist, teacher, art critic, has been publishing reviews and essays specifically on fine-art photography and contemporary art since 1973. From 1993, he taught visual anthropology at the Department of Cultural and Visual Anthropology, University of Miskolc, and was co-founder of the Private Photo and Film Archives’s research group.
It’s the little things: your friend who texts instead of ringing a doorbell. A bus filled with people looking at phones instead of newspapers. And it’s the bigger things: waves of protesters using these same phones to crowd the streets and overthrow long-established regimes.
Our exhibition, unveiling previously unseen parts of Sándor Kardos' remarkable photography project, ‘The Horus Archives,’ was on display from September 21, 2023 to October 14, 2023. This compact project was hosted at the Szikra Képzőművészeti Bemutatóterem in Budapest, and it delved into a unique and intriguing aspect of press culture in Post-War Hungary – the practice of ‘photo critiques.’
Excerpt from Joanna Zylinska's forthcoming book titled The Perception Machine: Our Photographic Future Between the Eye and AI (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2023).
Pacifico Silano, born in 1986 in Brooklyn, NY is a conceptual artist specializing in lens-based practices.
Named the Horus Archives, the collection of Sándor Kardos has been expanding for more than 40 years, becoming, in terms of size, the largest private collection in Hungary. Quoting him: "I learned a lot from amateur photographers, from the hundreds of thousands of people whom I cannot know personally."
The mission of The Family Museum is to explore our understanding of ‘family’ as expressed through vernacular photography, and the opportunities the archive offers for research and discussion around the history and practice of amateur photography.
“The whole of the past century is there, hidden in albums”
Interview with Miklós Tamási, co-founder of Fortepan
Fortepan is the largest, constantly expanding, Hungarian-language, free online archive of photographs. It was named after the Fortepan photographic film manufactured in the former Forte Factory in the town of Vác.
The Optimal Moment
On the Interest Toward Everyday Photography
Nowadays, we live in the age of banal image-making, since taking photos has become comically simple; anyone can snap pictures anytime. Remarkably, besides the interest in photos taken today, past-century vernacular photography is also drawing considerable attention.
“They’re often nostalgic images because that’s what they remind us of: the momentary reprieve from drudgery.”
Interview with writer, photographer, and blogger Matt Colquhoun
Their new book Narcissus in Bloom: An Alternative History of the Selfie was recently published on Repeater Books and presents an alternative interpretation of the selfie.
“I’m more interested in the stories, the experiences, the memories, and the emotions surrounding photographs than I am in what they look like”
Interview with Annebella Pollen
Annebella Pollen is Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton, UK, where she researches undervalued archives and untold stories in art and design history.
A constant state of flux between uses and misuses
Interview with Czech researcher and lecturer Michal Simunek
Michal Simunek is a Czech academic specialising in media studies and sociology. His scholarly interests span various fields, including the theory and history of photography, media studies, visual culture, consumer culture, and ethnographic research methodologies.
Questions about showcasing vernacular photography vol. 1
Roundtable summary
Although amateur or family photographs weren’t created with the intention of being institutionally collected, researched, and displayed, these visual materials have still become an important topic in contemporary visual culture. The collecting of everyday photographs has a rich history in Hungary; hence they can be found in archives of vastly different profiles. Eidolon Centre of Everyday Photography now takes up the quest to initiate discussion concerning the different institutional approaches to vernacular photography and to uncover the legal issues their usage and showcasing might bring forward.
From Other People’s Photographs (2008–2011)
Photo-essay
Joachim Schmid (born in 1955) is an artist and photographic critic based in Berlin who is primarily known for his work focusing on vernacular photography. One of his most renowned works is the series titled Other People's Photographs (2008-2011), in which he self-published ninety-six books featuring photographs sourced from online platforms such as Flickr.
Fortepan Masters is a 690-page vernacular photographic album
The book was on the shortlist of the Les Rencontres de la Photographie’s 2022 Book Awards in the historical book category, won the Hungarian Design Award in 2022, and received a Special mention at the German Design Award 2023.
Fortepan Masters is a 690-page vernacular photographic album
The book was on the shortlist of the Les Rencontres de la Photographie’s 2022 Book Awards in the historical book category, won the Hungarian Design Award in 2022, and received a Special mention at the German Design Award 2023.
Get the best of Eidolon in your inbox once (or twice) every month.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
