Selling pictures. Pictorial Economy and Commoditization 1820–2020

This project will place the current discussions concerning AI-generated images in a historical context, comparing it to two previous technological breakthroughs that have affected the use of pictures for commercial purposes. 

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2022, vol. 20, pp. 1–32. Abstract In this study, we provide an account of mortality levels in Sweden in 2020, focusing on both excess mortality and mortality due t

Sverige 2020. Vad kan historiker säga om framtiden?

Klimatkris, terrorhot och välfärdsstatens kollaps de framtida hotbilderna staplas på varandra av klimatforskare, demografer och samhällsvetare. Men vad innebär ett historiskt perspektiv på framtids

Anna Näslund

I am professor of Art History at Stockholm University and researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies. My research focuses on visual culture, picture theory and digitization.  The project Selling Pic traces the genealogy of contemporary AI-generated image hype over 200 years of promoting technologies for the production, reproduction, and circulation of pictures on a mass scale. It aims to understand the historical role of pictures not merely as commodities but as agents of commerce. The project focuses on emerging picture techniques in the 1820s, 1920s, and 2020s, examining iconographic and discursive patterns in pictures of mass reproduction (metapictures) and comparing vernacular picture theories—expressed in advertising copy and trade journalism—with canonical picture theories. Rooted in historical material practices, the project seeks to clarify and expand our understanding of how and why pictures play a central role in the work of selling in modern and contemporary societies.

Royal Society Open Science, vol. 9, issue 4 Abstract The General Social Survey, conducted every 2 years, measures public opinion on a wide range of moral issues. The data from the 2020 survey are expect

International Journal of Sociology Abstract Environmental problems such as climate change, air and water pollution, and biodiversity loss affect humans globally. The International Social Survey Programm

Nina Lager Vestberg

I’m a professor of visual culture in the Department of Art and Media Studies at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim, where I coordinate the Media, Data, Museumsresearch g

Demography Abstract We examine the prevalence of gender transitions in Sweden over time and document the sociodemographic characteristics of people transitioning in different periods. Using administrati

Rod Rhodes is Professor of Government (Research) within Social Sciences at the University of Southampton.ABSTRACTIn the 2000s, the New Public Governance (NPG) became prominent and this article takes s

European Societies Abstract Western labor markets are typically segregated by country of birth, with immigrants often employed in roles such as cleaners, taxi drivers, and fast-food cooks. We examine wh