Courtship. A Photographic Investigation of Romantic Engagement

Master’s Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject Art - Photography and Film, grade: Masters of Design with Merit, UNITEC New Zealand, course: Master of Design Majoring in Photography, language: English, abstract: The research question of my project is concerned with the evolution of romantic courtship with reference to the influence of fairytale conventions. The project aims to produce a photographic series and exegesis, which explore the constructs embodied in traditional fairytales in the context of social and aesthetic behaviours in courtship. The project started with an investigation of both academic references and contemporary artists. My Initial experimentation created works that communicated ideas surrounding themes such as fairytales, romance and gender confusion. I became interested in finding connections between academic and creative concepts such as the aesthetics of gender identity and the psychology of courtship and fairytales. By engaging in a creative process and exploring references that influenced the works, I was able to question and explore these themes through performing roles of both genders within the creation of characters. This exegesis essentially tracks my creative process, research and the questions and challenges I have faced along the way.