Documentary Practice as Praxis: A Direct Appeal to the Realization of the Social Act

Natali Rajchinovska-Pavleska

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.607

Authors

Natali Rajchinovska-Pavleska Faculty of Fine Arts, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.607

Keywords:

documentary practice; social praxis; critical position; Allan Sekula; contextualization; discursivization; photo-graphology; realization of the social act.

Abstract

The essential preoccupation of this paper is documentary practice as (social) praxis, the voice of the photography аs a direct mode of transmission and not only the discovery or mediation of reality. Alan Sekula's photographic discourse is taken as a case study, a practice that directly engages the subject – the position of the worker within the working class, critically representing the reality that is usually masked by spectacle. The hypotheses assume that the methodology of contextualization and discursivization of documentary photography (Untitled Slide Sequence, 1972) leads to a conscious perception of a historical and social reality. Using a cross-methodology of the author's theory and practice, referring to the author's critical point of view, Marxist and post-Marxist theories, this paper indicates that Sekula develops a specific photo-graphology concerned with the directness of expression, the literalness of meaning, and the unmasking of iconic signs captured by capitalist signifiers. The arguments underline that the use of documentary photography as a direct appeal can encourage the realization of a social act. The conclusion implies that the use of the author's voice in the direction of changing the movement of aesthetic production and reception leads to actualization, towards awakening of the passive component – confrontation with social stratification under capitalist order.

Author Biography

Natali Rajchinovska-Pavleska, Faculty of Fine Arts, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Natali Rajchinovska-Pavleska (1982) holds a PhD in science – art and media and is assistant professor of art history and theory at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. She is the author of monographs and art books, has curated exhibitions, and conducts research in contemporary art practices, art criticism and theory. Natali was a member of the curatorial team for the Macedonian project at the 15th Architecture Biennale in Venice (2016), served as a lecturer at the European seminar for curators, CreArt (2019), and was the curator for the Macedonian project at Manifesta 14 in Prishtina (2022). She is a member of the Macedonian section of AICA and the Macedonian National Committee of the International Council of Museums lCOM. Her research experience, grounded in the humanities and philosophy, employs a transdisciplinary approach that integrates and intersects various theoretical currents. She explores and critically examines expanded and cross-media art in relation to social dynamics and institutional contexts.

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Documentary Practice as Praxis: A Direct Appeal to the Realization of the Social Act

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Natali Rajchinovska-Pavleska, Faculty of Fine Arts, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

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