Photographer-Artist or Artist-Photographer? The Permanence of Contestations in the Field of Art Photography in Italy
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Identifying three key re-categorisation processes – detachment, emulation, and sublimation – this article provides a situated analysis of the persistent legitimation attempts of Italian photographer-artists, despite photography’s widespread recognition as an artistic medium. Drawing on a two-year ethnography in Milan, Italy, and interviews with 23 members of the art photography field, the article argues that social categorisation plays an important role in the on-going artistic legitimation of photography, as it supports the coexistence of competing legitimating discourses and status hierarchies. In particular, the article discusses how these three processes of re-categorisation, in combination with each other, foster the legitimacy of photographer-artists while avoiding risks of contestation.
Source: Cultural Sociology
Author: Lorenzo Giuseppe Zaffaroni
Language: English
Topic: Photographic and Visual Arts
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4417453450