## About [PDF](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1po7-JwtduFANK4Ng4gEnw6V6q5PpfgiO/view?usp=drive_link) <iframe width="650" height="450" src="https://museumcamera.net/"></iframe> [Home](https://museumcamera.net/) Simon Fleury A thesis submitted to Birmingham City University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham City University September 2023 --- ### **Welcome to the museum//camera** ![[Conservation Lab (a relational model)#^08e86d]] ### Navigating this web-based museum is straightforward. On the left side, you'll find the file explorer that hosts all the elements of this study — you probably know how to use it. On the right side, you'll see: - **The graph view**: This feature enables you to visualise how the current page connects to others, providing an alternative mode for navigating the site. - **On this page**: Use this to navigate through the content of the current page. - **Pages mentioning this page**: This feature displays pages that link back to the current page. You'll also find hyperlinks scattered throughout my notes. Hover over a link to preview its contents — clicking it will direct you to the corresponding page. For example: Here, you can access the [[Abstract]] and [[Acknowledgements]], and the [[Opening museumcamera|Opening of the museum//camera]] which includes my questions, research aims, objectives, and problem statement. Or, explore my encounter-based and process-relational [[Conservation Lab (a relational model)|theoretical framework]]. The thesis unfolds through two main empirical components: the history of the [[Condition Report (a history)]] and a succinct [[Early history (museum-photograph)]], layered with a series of experimental, audiovisual, and text-based [[Encounters|Encounters]]. The exposition concludes with a [[Closing museumcamera|Closing of the museum//camera]] and the possibility of a new lease of life for museum-based conservation. For further information, see the Supporting Documentation section which includes [[Appendixes]], a [[Glossary of Concepts]], and the [[References]]. ^55ad23 To get started, I recommend beginning with [[Opening museumcamera]]. However, feel free to explore the museum//camera as your curiosity dictates. A quick note on accessibility: Each of our longer texts and essays is accompanied by a downloadable PDF. While convenient, these PDFs are truncated experiences with restricted functionality—only external links are operational, although internal links are still visually indicated. To fully immerse yourself, keep this website open alongside the PDF version. This dual engagement enriches the experiential terrain of the museum//camera. In summary, this platform weaves together theoretical frameworks, historical analyses, and experiential encounters. Together, they articulate the museum//camera's distinctive "photospherics." For a visual representation of this interconnected, web-like structure, refer to the **graph view**. ### museum//camera's Networked Logic **The museum//camera's Networked Logic**  The museum//camera exists in the digital realm, employing a relational and nonlinear logic informed by the networked and archival nature of the [[museum-object's biography]]. Multi-modal and multi-vocal, its a space where form and content are inseparable. The object biographies traverse formal historical texts, still and moving images, conservation-based analysis and documentation, and notes. This reflects my experience as both an artist and museum-based conservator. ### A thought on Structural Inspirations In my late teens, I was deeply influenced by John Berger's quest to democratise the image, convinced that the force of photographic reproduction and the 'language of images' were unsettling the foundations of the Western canon. My engagement began with the book 'Ways of Seeing,' designed by Richard Hollis to echo the series' audiovisual experience, and its utopian proposition that assembling images could create different worlds has long inspired me. This idea of a counter-museology, which predated my tenure at the V&A, now resonates with my exploration of [[Conservation Lab (a relational model)|relational conservation]] in this era of networked imagery. The museum//camera, born from this lineage of thought, represents a playful yet careful approach to understanding how the museum, transformed by digital interconnectedness, is not only [[Opening museumcamera|Open]] but also inherently deserving of a new conservation ethos. Situated in Birmingham School of Art, this mode of **research-as-practice** seeks to extend Berger's polemic into a contemporary context and conditions, where attunement to the 'deeply felt everyday' within the museum environment challenges and enriches our traditional practices of conservation. ![[Pages from Berger - 2008 - Ways of seeing.pdf]] ---