The Domestic Camera
By Charlotte Stace
For decades, amateur photography remained on the margins of the official history of photography, mainly due to its character as a mass activity and the shortcomings of many of its productions. For some time now, however, it has been the subject of attention for the way in which it manifests different social and cultural aspects of its time.
Amateur photographic culture took strong root in Catalonia from 1880 onwards and would not cease to arouse extraordinary social fervour until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
Now Fundacio Mapfre spotlights amateur photography in its latest exhibition entitled ‘The Domestic Camera: Amateur photography in Catalonia (ca. 1880-1936)’. The exhibition traces its evolution through a thematic route that presents nearly 300 pieces (photographs, objects and period documents) that have been brought together thanks to the collaboration of 17 public institutions (including archives, museums, libraries and research centres) and 9 private collections.