Publication: Estrategias de autorrepresentación fotográfica, el caso de Frida Kahlo
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2014-03-18
Defense date
2014-02-27
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Abstract
Esta tesis doctoral se centra en la selección y análisis de un corpus de fotografías donde
posa la artista mexicana Frida Kahlo. La frecuencia con la que posó para diversos fotógrafos
ha dado como resultado un numeroso conjunto de imágenes relevantes para aquellos profesionales
del medio que las tomaron, pero especialmente significativas en la producción artística
de Kahlo. Así, se han escogido dichos textos visuales y se han examinado poniéndolos en
relación con el trabajo pictórico de la artista y con algunos documentos que ella produjo (sus
cartas y diario, principalmente). Estas escenas fotográficas no son el resultado de un posado
casual, tampoco son simples reflejos de su presencia delante de una cámara o de su personalidad,
ni meros objetos visuales creados exclusivamente por los fotógrafos con los que
colaboró. El estudio pormenorizado de las mismas permite su identificación como prácticas
discursivas específicas de la artista que albergan unas características comunes. Esta investigación
examina, por tanto, la utilización vicaria del medio fotográfico por parte de Kahlo,
el papel de esas imágenes en su trabajo creativo y, de manera medular, cómo Frida desafía
tres principios básicos de la disciplina fotográfica a través de sus retratos. En primer lugar, se
estudiará la noción de autoría fotográfica en su trabajo, en segundo lugar, el uso que hace la
artista de la capacidad narrativa del medio y, por último, la relación de estas fotografías con
ciertas prácticas autobiográficas. Si bien esta investigación tendrá en cuenta una serie de teorías
consideradas imprescindibles para el desarrollo argumental de las ideas aquí expuestas
(aportaciones tomadas de la semiótica, la teoría feminista u orientaciones historicistas, sociológicas
y biográficas), será el análisis pormenorizado de las imágenes seleccionadas quien
guíe las siguientes páginas. Por último, la consideración del acto fotográfico como una estrategia
de índole performativa tiene especial presencia en este estudio.
The present doctoral thesis is focused on the selection and analysis of a collection of photographs taken of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. For several photographers, the act of posing has generated an immense amount of images relevant for the professionals who took them. But in the case of Kahlo these photographs have been specially significant in her artistic production. In the present work, we have extracted these visual texts and examined them in relationship with the artist’s own pictorial work, as well as with other documents she produced (mainly, her letters and diary). These photographic scenes are not the result of casual or random poses, nor are they mere reflections of her presence in front of a camera or of her personality, nor simple visual objects created exclusively by the photographers with which Kahlo collaborated. A detailed study of these images reveals them to be specific discursive practices carried out by the artist, with a series of common characteristics. This research therefore examines Kahlo’s vicarious use of photography, the importance of these images in her creative process and, fundamentally, how Frida challenged the three basic principles of photography through her portraits. First, we will study the notion of photographic authorship in her work; secondly, the way the artist uses the narrative capacity of this discipline; and finally, the relation between these photographs with certain autobiographical works. Although this investigation will consider indispensable theories for the development and argument of the ideas here presented (taken from semiotics, feminists theories, historical, sociological and biographical orientations), it will be mainly focused on the detailed analysis of the selected images. Lastly, the consideration of the photographic act as a strategy of a performance nature will have a significant presence in this study.
The present doctoral thesis is focused on the selection and analysis of a collection of photographs taken of the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. For several photographers, the act of posing has generated an immense amount of images relevant for the professionals who took them. But in the case of Kahlo these photographs have been specially significant in her artistic production. In the present work, we have extracted these visual texts and examined them in relationship with the artist’s own pictorial work, as well as with other documents she produced (mainly, her letters and diary). These photographic scenes are not the result of casual or random poses, nor are they mere reflections of her presence in front of a camera or of her personality, nor simple visual objects created exclusively by the photographers with which Kahlo collaborated. A detailed study of these images reveals them to be specific discursive practices carried out by the artist, with a series of common characteristics. This research therefore examines Kahlo’s vicarious use of photography, the importance of these images in her creative process and, fundamentally, how Frida challenged the three basic principles of photography through her portraits. First, we will study the notion of photographic authorship in her work; secondly, the way the artist uses the narrative capacity of this discipline; and finally, the relation between these photographs with certain autobiographical works. Although this investigation will consider indispensable theories for the development and argument of the ideas here presented (taken from semiotics, feminists theories, historical, sociological and biographical orientations), it will be mainly focused on the detailed analysis of the selected images. Lastly, the consideration of the photographic act as a strategy of a performance nature will have a significant presence in this study.
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Keywords
Fotografía, Retrato, Frida Kahlo, Photography, Portrait