In my master thesis, I am exploring interventions in photography and merging it with other fine art disciplines. My initial research was inspired by my interest in the medium of photography and wish to explore various roles of photography in fine arts. First part of the research process was gathering information about artists, who are working in the area of photography and are inplementing various art techniques in their work.
The theoretical part of the thesis consists of two main contents: photography in combination with various art media and destructive techniques in contemporary art photography. I felt the need to further research the latter, since I haven't found much information about similar studies in the field of contemporary fine arts. Destructive techniques include work with fire, cutting, melting photo prints with the use of heat, etc. , which creates interesting results in completed artworks.
In addition to destruction, I have tried to present different usages of photography in the fine arts, from the very invention of photography to photography in the 21st century. I highlighted individual artists and their work in an art-historical and art-theoretical context and I also presented role of photography in fine arts. I studied international and domestic authors, who use the medium of photography in their creative process. Knowing the roles of photography in fine arts is important, since this knowledge enables us to recognize various possibilities it has as an art media and helps us to better understand its historical intertwining with other fine arts. Exploring these roles helped me in the process of writing my master thesis and also allow me to explore new possibilities of self expression in connection to photography.
Part of my personal work was also to compile a set of destructive techniques in photography and present problematic subject of retouching photographs in the public media. The creative process included taking self portraits, retouching them, printing them and finally implementing destructive techniques to alter the images. I experiment with techniques like burning, melting colors with a stain remover, scratching and tearing photos, etc. The final art products are presented according to sets of individual destructive techniques and in the form of a photo story.
In the art didactical research part of the thesis, I conducted a qualitative research among high school fine art students, using a questionnaire and analysis of their works of art. I came up with several cocurent questions regarding the topic of "false and deceptive images in the media," which I commented on with students and linked them to their works of art. Introducing students to new possibilities of expression in photography with destructive techniques and testing their current knowledge of photography in fine arts was the central goal of my research.
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