Exploring the relational element in the photographic portrait : how may contemporaneity in the form of the relational be reflected in the photographic portrait today?

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on relational elements in the photographic portrait, asking how contemporaneity in the form of the relational may be reflected in the photographic portrait today, in 2013. The question is approached phenomenologically and hermeneutically, by probing the topography between art and photography theory, the work of other artists and the author’s personal artistic practice. Central theorists are Roland Barthes, Jacques Rancière and curator Nicolas Bourriaud, and referred artists are Roni Horn, Rineke Dijkstra and Nelli Palomäki. The final result will be disseminated by the exhibition Cast off - a portrait photography based installation in Kristiansand, Norway, at the end of May 2013. But here, in this dissertation, the author outlines his approach and findings. These include the gaze as seen in the photographic portrait as a central place for facilitating dialogue; a prerequisite for inter human relations, and the importance of context for the creation of meaning and also how this may be addressed through the semantic and physical dissemination of the artwork.