At Face Value & Beyond : Photographic Constructions of Reality

How to account for the peculiar attraction of certain photos? How to pinpoint the specific use of images in particular contexts? Monika Schwärzler presents a variety of photographic case studies exploring visual phenomena from the point of media analysis, as well as sociological, aesthetic, and psychoanalytic perspectives. The topics range from a new reading of Thomas Struths street photographs to CERN photos with their charged rhetoric, from the assault of photographic close-ups to speculations on an anonymous slide collection featuring a woman with an ever-present white handbag. The book is meant for an audience receptive to the analytical appeal of images, prepared to go beyond what could be taken at face value.

Monika Schwärzler (PhD) teaches in the Department of Media Communications at Webster Vienna Private University. Her research interests include art and media theory, history of photography, documentary film and photography.