Craving the Whole Essence: The Photograph as Document, Artwork and Framework in the Theatre of Vs. E. Meyerhold / Simpson, Amy

Simpson, Amy, «Craving the Whole Essence: The Photograph as Document, Artwork and Framework in the Theatre of Vs. E. Meyerhold». About Performance; Sydney, 8, (2008), pp. 111-123,234

Abstract

Photographs of the theatre of Vsevolod Meyerhold highlight a key dichotomy in the photodocumentation of theatrical practice. These images are frequently the first point of contact with Meyerhold’s work for non-Russian speakers, and provide a vital insight into the director’s visual aesthetic. The photographs are also, however, art pieces in themselves, comprising unusual angles and explicit framing decisions. They are not images made by chance, but the work of a highly selective, and often anonymous, photographic artist. Placed in their cultural context, they reflect the rise of photography as an artistic, rather than purely documentary, process. They are testament to photography’s emergence as a creative strategy amongst the early twentieth century avant-garde. Aside from their historical value as documentation of a theatre lost to Stalinism, these images have an independent aesthetic value.

Other data

ISSN: 13246089
DOI:
URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1711215794/citation/3105852499EA46C9PQ/9
Language: EN
key: F36CHGBP