The Image in Retrospect
Creation Process Theory as an Alternative Approach towards the Image of Art
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cecilia Salles, Paula Martinelli
The image of art remains at the centre of philosophical discussions. From Plato, Kant, Hegel, and Warburg to the present day, thinkers dedicate themselves to the enigmas contained in these images by searching links between them and different periods of production. This paper aims to contribute to the debate that has been developed currently as well as internationally, placing the image as a phenomenon of encounter, rather than an exclusive domain of visuality; therefore, immersed in political and historical circumstances as a mediating interface of exchange between subjects. Thus, we take distance from the aesthetic readings in favor of a logic that recognizes the acts of authors and observers before the image and, above all, the processes that contextualize the production and originate these works of art. The importance of the studies on the processes of artistic creation is presented, which also remarks upon other academic approaches on History of Art as a science. Contemporary theorists place the image of art into a philosophical perspective that refutes the conventionally accepted categories, and by doing so approach themselves towards the study of creation processes. In order to investigate this matter in a different perspective, we look further into these processes and the creative networks in which they are developed. So, the paper introduces a creation processes theory that constitutes a strong academic basis towards the image of art, establishing dialogue between these theorists – Georges Didi-Huberman and Jacques Rancière among them – and the artistic processes critics.
Visual Framing of the European Migration Crisis in the Czech Daily Magazine Reportér: 2015 to 2018
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Katerina Bartova
The vast influx of people coming to Europe from the Middle East and Africa led to a so-called “migration/refugee crisis” in 2015. Media played a crucial role in framing the situation as “the crisis." Czech media caused panic by referring to migrants as a threat, despite the fact that the main migration routes avoided the country. Many surveys focused on textual analysis, so there is still a lack of studies aimed at visual frames. This project seeks to explore ways visual frames of the European migration crisis have been created and established in the most read Czech daily newspaper, and the monthly magazine, "Reportér". Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this paper investigates visual frames as they have been appearing within the photojournalistic news coverage of European migration crisis from 2015 to 2018, and examines their transformation throughout the years in the selected Czech print media. Drawing on the principles of visual framing analysis, the project scrutinizes the European migration crisis through visual communication and journalists’ ability to frame the events. The analysis adopts proven methods and test picture frames, which have already been described and used in other researches, but it also defines new visual frames that are related to Czech cultural environment, and will point out repetitive, deep-rooted motives that are socially understandable. The methodological toolkit is based on Erving Goffman's theory of framing, with particular emphasis on the work of Robert M. Entman, Ilija Tomanić Trivundža and Katy Parry.
The Claude Glass: Dark Visions in a New Light
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Carl Warner
There has been limited research into the 18th century dark landscape mirror commonly known as the Claude Glass. What study there is places differing importance on its use and influence in the history of optical devices. Jonathon Crary (1990) describes the glass as a mere implement working in metaphoric relation to the innate powers of the human subject, whereas, Geoffrey Batchen (1991) places it in a mosaic of influences that generated the desire for photography. The glass shares some physical similarities with modern hand-held image making devices, and has some of the structural qualities that Vilem Flusser (2011) describes as imaginary, magical and mythical. This paper explores those qualities to determine what the historical use of the Claude Glass can tell us of the contemporary form of the image mediated via the lens, both in relation to that history and as considered through my own photography.
