Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Ocularcentrism, as a mode of perception, refers to a one-sided preference to sight over the other senses and may limit creators and perceivers of photographs to interpret meaning solely on what they see. This scholarly work focuses on investigating how the limitations of ocularcentrism may be overcome with the application of an interactive hermeneutical model of aesthetic participation when creating and interpreting implied meanings in a photograph. Within a hermeneutic framework, investigations were undertaken into how photographers and perceivers connect their experiences to the work of art, how the interactive nexus between photographers and perceivers functions, how identified limitations affect the potential formation of a multitude of renewed meanings in a photograph, and how creative strategies used by photographers challenge the worldviews of perceivers. It was found that a hermeneutical approach to creative perception as an element in photography may give rise to interactive participation between all the coordinates of the proposed model. With implications in the field of visual communication, an understanding of the important role hermeneutics can play in the field of photography is of major significance as it may help overcome ocularcentric restrictions when creating and interpreting implied meanings in a photograph.