Między przedmiotem a obrazem. Polaroidy w dialogu międzykulturowym
Between the Object and the Image – Polaroids in an Inter-cultural Dialogue

Summary/Abstract: The author focuses on a question pursued upon numerous occasions and pertaining to photography as an instrument of communication and so-called visual illiteracy. The topic of such reflections turned out to be a specific genre of this medium – the instant camera (polaroid), comprehended not only as a visual communiqué but also as a material object. While making use of research from the domain of new materialism and studies dealing with objects, the conducted analyses focused on the appearance of polaroids at the junction of contrasting cultures. This pertains to, i.a. the use of instant processes by anthropologists, travellers, and artists from the West in the course of journeys to Second and Third World regions inhabited by persons unfamiliar with this type of photography. Polaroid cameras, invented for Western amateur photographers, became an important instrument of inter-cultural communication, but were also used for the purpose of bribing natives, taking over cultures, political rivalry, and emphasizing the civilizational domination of the USA.

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