PHOTO PROJECT AS A SPACE OF REPRESENTATION: THE METHODOLOGY OF MANIPULATIVE APPEAL IN THE DISCOURSE OF MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY (ON THE EXAMPLE OF DOCUMENTA PROJECTS OF THE 1950S–1970S)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the phenomenon of manipulative appeal as an integral component of project culture in the discourse of modern photography (on the example of the Documenta photo projects of the 1950s–1970s). Methodology. The research used the methods of historical-chronological and comparative analysis, which made it possible to define and interpret the Documenta photo projects as a self-sufficient problem. The methods of figurative and stylistic and compositional analysis were used to study specific projects, as well as individual works. The results. The conducted research proves that Documenta not only monitors new phenomena in art, but also actively shapes their qualities and contents, using its own arena as an experimental site. It is important to emphasize that the subgenre of «reportage landscape» emerged in the early 2000s within the framework of several author’s representations that investigated the impact of place aesthetics on the perception of everyday events. Documenta projects are an important space for the interaction of curatorial and authorial vision within photographic culture. The exhibition accumulates almost the entire existing artistic spectrum of modern visual art. That is why projects that have a photographic nature are often shown within the framework of Documenta not as photo art, but as something else – new, not generalized terminologically and institutionally. The fact that such projects do not identify themselves as photo art, in our opinion, requires a separate interpretation. At this stage, let’s pay attention to the obvious difference between the autonomous status of the «artist- photographer» and the equally distinctly autonomous option of the «artist who creates images». Scientific novelty. The article shows that the synthetic property of Documenta as a relevant platform aimed at the search for cross-species and cross-genre features provides ample opportunities for the typology of contemporary photo art. In the chronological framework of the 1950s – 1970s, there was a qualitative change in the repertoire and concepts of photo practices. It is on this basis that analog practices returned to actual photography, but already in the context of new expressions and new visual points of view. This allows us to consider Documenta projects as a factor in shaping the phenomenology of photography as a part of contemporary art. Practical significance. The results of the research can be used both in the educational and in the research field.