Representing the Real itself is problematic, as it is impossible to integrate into the symbolic order without reduction following Jacque Lacan, but there are codes of realism in arts. Dream is a leakage of unconscious material to conscious, marked by condensation and displacement - workings of dream-work, described by Freud manifest content can be interpreted to get access to hidden, latent content. Throughout my reasoning I revise some examples of Renaissance paintings, surrealist works, and contemporary photography from different contexts in order to illustrate how such effects may be constructed. I touch upon some conventions of nightmares, bringing arguments by Laura Mulvey and Linda Nochlin about defragmentation and dismemberment of the body in visual imagery, as the body is a common medium to present the states of mind, social unease and transmit a feeling of changing times. Alfred Gell’s definition of Occult is linked to the notion of unconscious, and it is possible to notice some similarities between rituals, dreams and artistic practices. I pay special attention to Surrealism (and Rosalind Krauss essays on the topic) as this artistic tradition is based on Freudian concepts (psychic automatism in particular) surreal photographers enriched photographic language through their efforts to visualise the unconscious. By combining ideas from Freud’s notion of dream-work and semiotics I outline conventions of dream-like effects in visual arts that have formed and accumulated over generations.
I briefly consider the histories of photography, histories of concepts of Realism and the notion of the Occult. Such images have similar visual structures - reoccurring elements and tools used to transmit such states can be noticed and grouped. I examine how oneiric effects in photography may be achieved, because representation of alternative states of consciousness is part of every culture and is omnipresent in contemporary and ancient imagery. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of BA (Hons) in Photography and Film School of Arts and Creative Industries in Edinburgh Napier University.
0 kommentar(er)
