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The questions that this project poses are centred on an examination of photography's relationship to modernist architectural space. Polarising the melancholic and the utopian, the definition of photography is extended to include its manifestation across a number of diverse sites and processes. What is the connection between the processes and technology of photography and its representation of modernist space? How can these relationships inform and articulate a photographic practice? This thesis comprises five key areas of investigation, with each theoretical chapter being followed by a complementary sequence of photographic images. The first section considers the process of `fragmentation' in relation to a body of photographs which I have termed `fragments'. These images reveal the aspirational or utopian content of modernist architecture as a condition of loss or melancholy. The second section develops the notion of the `fragment' in relation to `allegory', which I argue, opens photography to metaphoric interpretation thus taking on the duality of meaning. The third section uses W. G. Sebald's novel Austerlitz and Kracauer's work on history, to locate this duality within Husserl's Lebenswelt. The fourth section shifts the emphasis of inquiry towards an examination of how the utopian emerges within specific aspects of the photo-reprographic process, such as the error of misregistration in colour printing. This forms the basis for a development of the practice into the field of the photographic representation of colour. The fifth section looks at how colour has been added to the monochromatic image in a series of postcards of modernist architecture from the 1930's thus suggesting a site of utopian investment With reference to Kristeva and Benjamin I develop the notion of colour as an excess of meaning indicative of utopian aspiration. The conclusion of the project is firmly located in the practice outcome and a body of work, which I have termed `constructed images'. Representing a convergence of the five themes, these reveal the ability of photography to uniquely articulate the utopian-melancholy polarity, a transformative process, intervening into architectural space to indicate new ways of thinking about it.

The aim of the research that this thesis is based on is to explore the theoretical problems raised by the concept of photographic abstraction. These consist in the tension between the two aspects of the photographic sign, the indexical and iconic, and are examined in the context of the particular exploration of the empty space in abstract photography which I have pursued through my practice.

Tybee Island is a tiny piece of land, only-two-and-a-half miles long and two-thirds of a mile wide; however, its strategic location near the mouth of the Savannah River assigned to it an important role in the birth and history of the state of Georgia. Over this coastal community five flags have flown, representing Spain, France, England, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. Using numerous vintage photographs from the archives of the Tybee Island Historical Society, Tybee Island guides the reader through over two hundred years of history. Although much of its history is linked to nearby Savannah, Tybee is singular among Georgia’s coastal islands, and has a history and lore that is uniquely its own. This visual journey begins with the building of Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse, and continues through Tybee’s involvement in the Civil War. Also covered are the island’s later roles as a military installation, a popular coastal resort, and a residential community. Vintage photographs recall earlier days on Tybee, when the island was known as “Ocean City,” “Savannah Beach,” and, to some, “the best kept secret on the East Coast.” / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1029/thumbnail.jpg

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University. / Bibliography: leaves 59-60. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (M.E. Physics and Electronic Engineering)--University of Waikato, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-73) Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MFA)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.). / Written for the Dept. of Art History and Communication Studies. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/03/12). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 34).

Thesis (M. A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Art and Art History, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-79). Also issued in print.