Description
The Unveiled Image
Book Summary
This essay analyzes the representation of illness, death, and grief in photography, from its origins to the digital age. The authors, Montse Morcate and Rebeca Pardo, explore how these images have fluctuated between acceptance and rejection depending on the historical and cultural context, and how digital photography and the internet have transformed their social uses and meanings. An essential work for understanding the evolution of a visual taboo in contemporary society.
What is it about?
The book examines the complex relationship between photography and the processes of illness, death, and grief. Through a historical overview, it shows how these images have been used and perceived differently in each era. The work focuses especially on the radical change brought about by the arrival of the digital image and social media, which have democratized the creation and dissemination of this content, giving rise to new ways of narrating illness and experiencing grief. The authors analyze how these contemporary visual practices are redefining the boundaries of the public and the private, as well as the role of the image in the construction of memory and identity in moments of loss.
Main themes
- Visual representation of illness, death, and grief in the history of photography.
- Evolution of the social and cultural perception of images of death.
- Impact of digital photography and the internet on the social uses of these images.
- New visual narratives in contemporary grieving processes.
- Relationship between image, memory, and identity in contexts of loss.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at photographers, art historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and communication science students. It will also be of great interest to healthcare professionals, thanatologists, and anyone interested in the evolution of documentary photography, visual studies, and cultural transformations in the way we face death and grief.
What this book offers
- A rigorous and contextualized analysis of a taboo subject in the history of photography.
- An updated understanding of how digital technology has transformed the relationship with images of death.
- A profound reflection on the role of the image in the processes of grief and memory in contemporary society.
Technical specifications
- Author: MORCATE, MONTSE; PARDO, REBECA
- Publisher: Sans Soleil Ediciones
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: PHOTOGRAPHY AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, PHOTOGRAPHS: COLLECTIONS
- Collection: ACADEMIC SERIES
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: October 2019
- Number of pages: 288
- Weight: 445 g
Editorial review
A necessary and timely essay that addresses a visually uncomfortable yet deeply human subject with academic seriousness. The work stands out for its ability to connect the history of photography with the digital and social transformations of our time, offering keys to understanding how we view and share death in the internet age. Its interdisciplinary approach and documentary rigor make it a reference for those who study the contemporary image and its cultural implications.