Esta dissertação buscou entender como o processo de leitura da linguagem visual pode se expandir, por meio das relações que se estabelecem entre o eu - fotógrafo e o objeto a ser fotografado, através de um curso denominado Oficina de Fotografia. Adotou-se como referencial teórico os estudos de Paulo Freire sobre educação; de Ana Mae Barbosa sobre leitura de imagens; de María Acaso sobre educação visual; e de Joan Fontcuberta sobre a linguagem fotográfica. Para tal, constituiu-se um Grupo Focal com alunos de diferentes idades e profissões que haviam realizado o curso Oficina de Fotografia. Os depoimentos coletados constituem o corpus de análise dessa pesquisa. O método do Grupo Focal diz respeito à abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, que procura conhecer o que os sujeitos envolvidos em uma determinada situação ou evento pensam a respeito de um tema proposto pelo pesquisador. Os resultados obtidos a partir da análise das entrevistas demonstram que os alunos passaram a ter uma leitura mais criteriosa não só das imagens fotográficas como também da linguagem visual em cenas cotidianas, após realizarem a Oficina de Fotografia. / This dissertation aimed to understand how the process of reading visual language can be expand by the relations that are established between the photographer itself and the object to be photographed in a course called Workshop of Photography. As theoretical reference it was used the studies from Paulo Freire about education; from Ana Mae Barbosa about images reading; from María Acaso about visual education; and from Joan Fontcuberta about photographic language. A Focus Group was organized with subjects from different ages and professions that had already attended the Workshop of Photography. The statements collected constitute the corpus of analysis of this research. The Focus Group is applied in a qualitative research methodology that aims to know what the subjects, involved in a particular situation or event, think about an issue suggested by the researcher. The obtained results based on an analysis from the interviews showed that the subjects, after attending the Workshop of Photography, have achieved a more discerning reading not only of the photographic images, but also from the visual language in everyday life scenes.

A pesquisa, com título inicial de Errância e Idiorritmia Fotografias, buscou aplicar uma proposta metodológica baseada sobretudo (mas não apenas) no diálogo com as obras LEspace Littéraire, do ensaísta Maurice Blanchot autor no qual a errância é discutida como eixo de uma prática que desconhece seu ponto de chegada e que não abdica de sua força motora irredutível (ainda que por vezes desconhecida) , e com o seminário Comment Vivre Ensemble, de Roland Barthes, em que o termo idiorritmia é empregado para uma discussão sobre a individuação da linguagem. O trabalho procurou aproximar-se dessas considerações teóricas para desenvolver um método ensaístico e prático de produção em fotografia. / Originally titled as Errance and Idiorhythm Photographs, the research looked to apply a methodology mainly based (but not only) in the dialogue with the works LEspace Littéraire, by the essayist Maurice Blanchot in which the author discusses the errance as the axis of a practice that knows your destination and that do not abdicate of its driving and irreducible force (though sometimes unknown) as well as the Roland Barthes seminar Comment Vivre Ensemble, in which the term idiorhythm is introduced to discuss the individuation of the language. This work tried to approach these theoretical considerations to develop an essayistical and practical method of producing.

Guided by the question of what does photography bring into being, 'Against Indexicality' is a proposition to rethink the foundation of the philosophy of photography - to rethink the supposed relation of truth between the photograph and the world. Taking Indexicality as a messy and convoluted conceptual field comprised of the notions of pointing, stillness, and fragmentation, this study works to untangle the three from each other, separately challenging each individual notion. In analysing each of the three through their conceptualisation by prominent thinkers, including Charles S. Peirce, Susan Sontag, Henri Bergson, Walter Benjamin, André Bazin, Rosalind Krauss, Jacques Derrida, and Roland Barthes, and examining them against and through examples of photographic images, this study points to the imprecisions, insufficiencies, and incompatibilities of Indexicality in relation to the photographic image and form. Undoing Indexicality as a field, this study resists Indexicality as a paradigm, proposing a new theoretical framework for photography: rather than looking at photographic images as truth bearers that can evidence the photographed, it proposes to look at photographic images as formations that form a thought out of the photographed. In that, this study works to remedy the Indexicality fever, or compulsion, which it identifies as the root cause of theoretical mess within the philosophy of photography. By evincing that Indexicality is a wrong, albeit necessary, solution to a problem that is to do with identifying the relation of the photograph to the world, it not only lifts photography out of a Procrustean bed in which it was never comfortable, but also allows for a new solution to develop. This solution is the theory of photo-poiesis: a move beyond the materiality and away from the referentiality of photography towards its being in the world and the thought that it forms and brings-forth - towards thinking.

Os retratos fotográficos são uma forma consolidada de se representar. Refletir a partir da visão do retratado no momento em que esta se direciona no sentido oposto ao nosso olhar propõe a existência de um espaço contíguo ao corte que atravessa a quarta parede. Tal compreensão tensiona o contexto que circunda fisicamente o espaço da obtenção dos retratos. Neste trabalho, propõe-se a ampliação do espectro das análises em direção a um espaço definido pela formulação da noção de contraperspectiva: um espaço perspectivo inverso ao tradicional que se instaura no direcionamento do olhar para a câmera, e que se projeta sobre quem observa a imagem, incluindo-o, concebendo que o sentido é, também por isso, ampliado. Este espaço foi complexificado pela prática da selfie, promotora da sobreposição dos papéis do fotógrafo e do fotografado. Para tanto, propôs-se uma investigação qualitativa através de entrevistas com fotógrafos profissionais, buscando entender suas concepções e conflitos acerca dos perfis e retratos dos outros (ou de si próprios). Além da proposição teórica da contraperspectiva, este estudo propõe as noções de espacialidade constitutiva e figurativa, as quais, respectivamente, conceituam as possibilidades físicas da circunstância de obtenção e, no segundo caso, a materialização de uma escolha dentre as possibilidades. Outra percepção advinda do estudo sustenta que a presença de duas forças - que se entrecruzam no plano da imagem – atuam como vetores de entrada e saída da imagem em relação à quarta parede, estabelecendo-se em conflito constante, desperta principalmente pela posição do olhar direto. Acrescenta-se ainda, neste trabalho, a compreensão da ideia dos espaços perpendicular e paralelo, no qual o primeiro estabelece relação entre o retratado e o espaço que ele ocupa, que lhe circunda e do qual ele faz parte, e o segundo posiciona-se sobre o eixo retratado/câmera, efetuando-se na ligação estabelecida entre os olhares do sujeito retratado/visto em relação à posição da lente/observador/vidente. Neste sentido, propõe-se o entendimento que o olhar direto estabelece, mesmo que por breve instante, uma sensação de compartilhamento de espaços entre o observador e o observado. Assim, foi possível compreender em maior profundidade o espaço que permeia a obtenção e como este se relaciona, enquanto dinâmica, com as noções inclusivas nos processos de observação destes retratos. / The photographic portraits are, for human beings, a consolidated way to represent. Reflecting from the viewer's perspective, at the moment it is directed in the opposite direction to our normally projective look (at the moment the subject is looking at the lens), it suggests the existence of a space adjoining the cut, translucent, which breaks through the fourth wall. Such an understanding aims to reflect about the whole context that physically surrounds the space of obtaining the portraits, understanding it as everything that involves the production of photographs. In this paper, it is aimed the amplification of the spectrum of the analysis that comprise a movement, inflated by the practice of selfies, that brings up the theoretical frame of the counter-perspective: a perspective space inverse to the traditional one that establishes in the direction of the look for the camera, And that is projected onto the one who observes the image, including that person, conceiving that the meaning is, therefore, also enlarged. In addition, the practice of selfie, which promotes the overlapping of the roles of photographer and photographed, also stresses spatiality insofar as it subverts the role of the observer to the observed. In addition to the theoretical proposition of contraperspective, this study proposes the notions of constitutive and figurative spatiality, which, respectively, conceptualize the physical possibilities of the circumstance of obtaining and, in the second case, the materialization of a choice among the possibilities. Another perception from the study maintains that the presence of two forces act as vectors of entrance and exit of the image in relation to the fourth wall, establishing itself in constant conflict, aroused mainly by the position of the direct look . It is also added in this work the understanding of the idea of perpendicular and parallel spaces, in which the former establishes a relation between the portrayed person and the space he occupies, which surrounds him and of which he is a part, and the second position On the retracted axis / camera, effecting the established connection between the glances of the subject portrayed / seen in relation to the position of the lens / observer / sighted. In this sense, it is proposed the understanding that the direct look establishes, even for a brief moment, a sense of space sharing between the observer and the observed. Thus, it was possible to understand in greater depth the space that permeates the obtaining and how this relates, while dynamic, with the inclusive notions in the processes of observation of these portraits.

The Enigma of Appearances is an examination into the medium of three-dimensional photography, with particular focus on the technique of stereoscopy. Invented in the mid-Victorian era, stereoscopy was an attempt to simulate natural three-dimensional perception via a combination of optics, neurology, and a pair of dissimilar images. Whilst successful in producing a powerful illusion of spatial depth and tangibility, the illusion produced by stereoscopy is anything but ??natural??, when compared to three-dimensional perception observed with the naked eye. Rather, stereoscopic photography creates a strange and unnatural interpretation of three-dimensional reality, devoid of atmosphere, movement and sound, where figures appear frozen in mid-motion, like waxwork models, or embalmed creatures in a museum. However, it is precisely stereoscopic photography??s unique and enigmatic interpretation of three-dimensional reality, which gives it its strength, separating it from being a mere ??realistic?? recording of the natural world. This thesis examines the unique cultural position that stereoscopy has occupied since its invention in 1838, from its early role as a tool for the study of binocular vision, to its phenomenal popularity as a form of mass entertainment in the second half of the 19th century, to its emergence in contemporary fine art practice in the late 20th and 21stt centuries. Additionally, The Enigma of Appearances gives a detailed analysis of the theory of spatial depth perception; it discusses the dichotomy between naturalia versus artificialia in relation to stereoscopic vision; and finally, traces the development of experimental studio practice and research into stereoscopic photography, undertaken for this MFA between 2005 and 2007. The resulting work, Camera Mortuaria (Italian for ??Mortuary Room??), is a powerful and innovative series of anaglyptic portraits, based upon an experimental stereoscopic technique that enables the production of extreme close-up three-dimensional photography. Applying this technique to the reproduction of the human face in three-dimensional form, Camera Mortuaria presents a series of ??photo sculptures??, which hover between reality and illusion, pushing the boundaries of stills photography to the limit, and beyond.

This study examines the photographic production of the 1970s in Cuba through print media and aims to situate its role and function within the cultural politics that dominated this decade. The photographic image played a distinctly prominent role in the construct of a euphoric narrative that defined the early Revolutionary period. However, at the onset of the 1970s, the social, political and cultural life of the country was marked by a centralization and institutionalization of power that challenged the autonomy of artists and intellectuals. The medium of photography functioned almost exclusively as an instrument for journalism, removed from its artistic potential. The research focused on the work of a generation of photographers that emerged during two distinct moments in two major publications ? Cuba Internacional in the early 1970s and Revolución y Cultura in the second half of the decade. The study shows that the photographic production of this group of photographers was imbued with a personal aesthetic vision that belied the contemporaneous political status quo and as such reflected shifting ideological attitudes. The research also examines the socio-political factors that led these publications to represent sites of relative creative freedom and artistic innovation. It demonstrates how the function of photography shifted from strictly documentary to an artistic manifestation. The research predicted and found that photography played an influential role in the art making processes that generated aesthetic ruptures in the 1980s.

First Semester: My thesis project is about showing women’s empowerment through their sexuality and comfort within their bodies own bodies. In our society women’s eroticism is seen as taboo and women are taught to turn away from the exploration of the erotic as a source of power within themselves. The erotic is often confused and misunderstood, it is an emotion and sense of empowerment that has been named by men and used against women. It’s now difficult to recognize that the erotic can even have a sense of empowerment for women, because strong women have been taught through our society to be viewed as dangerous. As Audre Lorde, a feminist writer states, “The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling. In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change. For women, this has meant a suppression of the erotic as a considered source of power and information within our lives” (Lorde). A woman’s strength comes from her sexuality. Once women begin to believe in this concept, they will begin to require this deep powerful sensation from all aspects of their lives and will not settle for anything less. Women should embrace their sexuality and use it as a sense of strength, instead of falsely believing that they can only be strong by suppressing this eroticism. My project is based on a collaborative experience with the models about what their sexuality means to them, and how they can show this through a camera. These photographs are meant to be raw and real; they are representations of real women who have chosen to show the viewers their own sexuality in the way in which they see best fits their sexual personality and comfort with their own bodies. The writings from the models on the back of the photographs show their own struggles with their sexuality. It may make the viewers feel uncomfortable, but this is the point. We are working towards being able to live in a society where women can be sexual if they choose to be. This is still a working progress, and having to view photographs that make one uncomfortable, may be the first step in change. Second Semester: Visual Poetic Abstractions: A Close Photographic Rendering of The Female Body: My personal thesis project shifted after first semester ended. Second semester I decided to continue the question of the body, but step away from the cultural views and instead start to dissect the body in it’s natural form. The project is a close examination of the formalist aspects of the body, including a self-evaluation of what the body means to me. This project resulted in a series of close-up photographs that will help the viewer in seeing portions of the body in ways they have not before. Some photographs will even be unrecognizable as to what part of the body the photograph is representing. This is important because it leads the viewer to examine each photograph for what the beauty of the photo entails, and not for their previous cultural understandings of body parts prior to viewing. The idea behind the black and white photographs is so the viewer again dissects the photograph without the context of color – for example skin no longer can be recognized as skin when the color context is taken away from these photographs. Within this project, I have paid specific detail to the poetic formalist view of the body, dissecting different body parts to create awe and wonderment. The photographs are an anatomical view of the body in its most raw and poetic form.

Photography is a staple in news media, in magazines, in marketing/advertising, in entertainment, and in public relations as a means of persuasion and illustration. The purpose of this study was to determine if photographs had a persuasive effect on reader opinion of the agriculture industry when standing alone and when coupled with agriculture news leads in magazines. A stratified random sample of students (N=300) was asked to complete two online surveys-pretest and post test. Parametric- and nonparametric-type questions were used to measure the reactions of students, most of whom had no strong association with agriculture or photography, toward an agriculture photograph, and asked if their reaction were influenced by associating the photographs with a positive agriculture news lead. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and one-way ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. By using two photographs that represented different agriculture settings, this study showed how photographs can either heighten the public's fear of or renew its faith in the agriculture industry. This study showed that most respondents viewed photographs, negatively regardless of the presence of a news lead that depicted agriculture positively.

Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2002. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-148). Also available via the World Wide Web.

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