The abject body as a subject has been widely represented and explored in all periods of history of photography. From 19th century daguerreotypes (pictures of dead infants) to late 20th century works of Rudolf Shafer; from grotesque through diseases to death.
There are some interesting publications, which are worth taking into consideration:
Vile Bodiles: Photography and the Crisis of Looking, 1998. Towsend, C. Prestel
One of the most complex positions includes areas of death, pathological disorder, ageing or physical disability. Author tries to break a taboo that is fear about our own bodies and damaged bodies of others. The voice of artists forces us to re-think how we look at the photography and the body. One of the photographers – John Caplans says: “I am not dealing with the perfect body, I am dealing with another kind of truth, that is how the body really is and why don’t we accept it, because that’s our norm.”
The Dead”, 1995. Williams V; Hobson G. National Museum of Photography.
The book focused mainly on picturing of death in late 20th century. The main aim of the author was to examine the ways in which photographers and artists explore ideas of mortality and how they ask important questions about taboos, which surround picturing of death. Wide spectrum of photographers represented in this publication and vast area of interpretation give us possibility to renew our thinking about death.
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Maciej, perhaps you could make a more extended critical appraisal of the books you mention in your text. Also try o use the Harvard referencing system. Eg,
ReplyDeleteVile Bodiles: Photography and the Crisis of Looking, 1998. Towsend, C. Prestel