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Jaeger, A, 2024. The aesthetics of photographic production: why material practices matter. PhD, Nottingham Trent University.
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Abstract
The thesis explores the often overlooked sensory and material aspects of photographic production, challenging the traditional focus on the photograph as image. Questioning the prevailing view that photographic research is concerned only with the final image, the thesis contends that the processes of making in commercial laboratories and manufacturing facilities also have aesthetic significance. The research has two aims: to redirect attention to the aesthetic aspects of photographic making beyond the photograph itself, and to examine the implications of this shift of focus for the concept of photographic practice. Based on practice based research across diverse photographic settings, the study captures aesthetic nuances of C-type printing that include the tensioning, fogging, and tearing of photosensitive paper. An event-centric approach moves beyond the visual to explore the multisensory experiences of listening, touching, and feeling that inform photographic production and acknowledges the contributions of more-than-human agency. The multimodal presentation of findings combines traditional written analysis with experiential exposition to highlight the importance of non-visual outputs in photographic making. The research makes four contributions to photography studies. Firstly, based on a theoretical review that critiques the prevailing emphasis on the photograph that is always already made, the neglect of photographic making and its co-constitutive dimension is highlighted. Secondly, an immersive researcher-practitioner approach provides empirical insights into often hidden practices of everyday photographic production demonstrating that photographic making extends beyond words and visibility. Thirdly, the novel artistic research methodology highlights the importance of showing as well as telling, using diverse exhibition formats to convey the embodied dimension of photographic making. Finally, in-depth case examples reveal the complex interplay of materials, technology, and human and non-human agency that surpasses the conventional visual-centric, human-centric and photograph-centric paradigm. This more nuanced conception of photographic practice comprehends and embraces the sensory and material complexities of photography and the medium’s aesthetic dimension beyond the image.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Description: | Abridged version |
| Creators: | Jaeger, A. |
| Contributors: | Name Role NTU ID ORCID |
| Date: | June 2024 |
| Divisions: | Schools > School of Art and Design |
| Record created by: | Jeremy Silvester |
| Date Added: | 27 Jun 2025 08:02 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Jun 2025 08:04 |
| URI: | https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53829 |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2985-7839Actions (login required)
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