From Typologies to Portraits: Catherine Opie's Photographic Manipulations of Physiognomic Imagery

This thesis proposes that California contemporary photographer Catherine Opie's Being and Having series (1991) and her Portrait series (1993-1996) parody the constraining binary gender discourse and stereotypes that emanate from it. In her art Opie uses familiar codes and identity discourses associated with traditional portrait photography and typological photographs to promote a postmodern and fluid model of gender identity. Her manipulation of photographic technique and subject matter validates cultural stereotypes of gender at the same time that it destabilizes them. Opie also simultaneously highlights fallacies such as the presumed objectivity and evidential force that is associated with the discourse of portrait photography as a documentary field. By presenting her portraits of lesbians to broad-based audiences in such a blatant and stylized manner, Opie comments on the limitations of society's continued reliance on gender non-nativity and physiognomic modes of identifying communities.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Year dc:date.available

2005

Author dc:creator

• Bridges, Jennifer T.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Robert Hobbs

• parody
• contemporary photography
• gender
• stereotype
• Catherine Opie
• portrait photography
• Arts and Humanities

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1080

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2079