In our society, serious diseases are often talked about only in the context of their prevention and treatment, and less often about people’s personal experiences with them. We rarely see visual depictions of disease, especially the kinds that give an insight into the emotional aspects of a patient’s personal experience of illness.
The aim of this diploma work is to research the subgenre of documentary photography which mainly deals with the depiction of illness and treatment in the form of self-portrait. In the theoretical part, documentary photography and its history are discussed briefly, followed by a more detailed discussion of photography dealing with depiction of disease. This detailed discussion explores photography used in medicine to record and display signs of disease. It also deals with authors and their works that portray disease in a more subjective way and their significance for the author and viewer. Snapshot photography is also presented, as this is the subject of the experimental part of the assignment.
The experimental part is based on a photo story about my personal experience of cancer and its treatment. The way in which the photographs were created and the process of combining the images into a photographic narrative are described. In addition to the technical aspects, the content aspects of composing a photo story are also explained, i.e. reasons for choosing certain motives and placing them in the story. Finally, a selection of ten photos from the photo story is presented. In addition to the explanation of the depicted motifs and the analysis of the artistic properties, the backstory of the photographs is also explained.
The result of the experimental part of the diploma thesis is a photographic narrative documenting the time of illness and treatment. It consists of 204 photos which are taken with a mobile phone and are therefore technically imperfect. Awareness that the value of documentary photography does not necessarily derive from its technical perfection, but primarily from its content, is highlighted.
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