PHOTOGRAPHIC ART AND ANTHROPOLOGY: DECODING THE MULTIFACETED CULTURE OF CORPORALITY

Abstract

The art of photography has been challenging and reshaping our perception of the world since its inception. Likewise, anthropology, as a discipline that studies human cultures, social structures, and beliefs, offers a valuable perspective for understanding the body presentation in photography. Combining anthropological theories and methods, as well as analysing and interpreting works of photographic art, the article examines how identity is interpreted, constructed, expressed in culture and social structure in photographic art, including through a body image. The body is the most direct and authentic manifestation of identity. However, identity is not some kind of fixed label; it is multi-layered and multidimensional, constantly developing and changing both in a person and in the environment. As an artistic medium, photography makes it possible to show this changeability and versatility of identity. Moreover, the body does not exist in isolation in photography; it is placed in a cultural, historical and social context. This context gives the photographer and the viewer a clue to deciphering the body, helping to deeper understand the body’s place in culture and the values and beliefs it carries. Photography captures not only the body but also the many interpretations and meanings given to the body in culture. By exploring the relationship between the body and social structure, we find that certain body features are used in various sociocultural contexts to differentiate social status, gender, race, and other social markers. By highlighting or challenging these features, photography deepens our understanding of the role of corporality in social structures. Thus, the application of anthropological approaches to the analysis of the art of photography provides us with a fresh perspective, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, social and individual meanings embedded in photography. Through anthropological interpretation and understanding of the body, through the expressive means of photography, works of greater depth and breadth can be presented, and the viewer, owing to the anthropological perspective, can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural context and social environment in which he or she lives.