To East and West, to North and South: Regionalism and Mythology in Contemporary American Photography

美国艺术史和摄影史在很大程度上聚焦于美国周边的大都市，包括纽约和洛杉矶，而忽视了其他历史上界定的地区在美国文化想象的形成中的影响。本文探讨了中西部、太平洋西北部、阿巴拉契亚和西南部这些地区的文化和神话角色，确定每个地区都是摄影领域中重要的文化能指。当代美国的政治分歧导致了摄影项目的复兴，这些项目通过记录被边缘化的地区和社区来质问美国人的社会和文化观念。虽然地区主义在历史上被认为是一场政治右倾运动，强制执行保守的美国价值观(Nygard，2020)，但21世纪的地区主义摄影批评国家和地区身份的形成，叙事的构建，以及社区和归属感的主题。因此，这项研究解决了以下问题：当代摄影师如何将地区主义作为一种文化、批评和/或政治工具进行部署、适当、批评或以其他方式进行？这项研究是由大卫·坎帕尼的概念提供信息的，他认为“描绘[美国]的行为是诊断、定义和自我主张的主要行为”(Campany，2014)。许多关于美国摄影的学术忽略了地区性的特点，倾向于将摄影简化为一个同质的全国性类别(Sontag，1982；Green，1984；Guimond，1991；Gidley，2011)。为了对抗这些区域、文化和历史偏见，该项目使用比较分析来确定地方和区域认同的意义和表现如何从一个地区和社区到另一个地区和社区。案例研究包括，但不限于，卡尔·比格莫尔的《在两个谜团之间》(2015)，这是一部剖析太平洋西北地区流行文化的电影层面的系列片；纳撒尼尔·格兰恩在《中西部多愁善感》(2018)中对中西部“空虚的常态”的调查；以及布莱恩·舒特马特对美国西部矿业社区的心理描绘，如他的项目《大山送来的灰烬》(2013)。这项研究从两个方面颠覆了美国摄影史的传统经典：首先，它追踪和分析与被忽视的地区和社区有关的持久的意识形态和肖像。其次，它扩展了正典，考虑到土著和女性摄影师是如何传达和挑战这些观念的，例如梅根·G·金和斯泰西·克拉尼茨，他们描绘了阿巴拉契亚地区贫困和保守主义的视觉遗产。我的方法是交叉的，揭示了摄影师是如何为当代的去殖民化和表现政治问题做出贡献的。2022-23年秋-春-分析英国可用的二手资料；广泛的研究培训和学术网络(中部艺术项目)。2023年-24年秋-春-从美国档案收集原始材料，并采访摄影师和策展人(研究发展基金)；论文初稿完成。2024-25年秋-春-在当代艺术机构的安置；与其他M4C候选人合作的研讨会(队列发展基金)；论文第二稿完成。2025年秋-论文最终稿完成；考试。

Histories of American art and photography have for most part focused on the country's peripheral metropolises, including New York and Los Angeles, ignoring the influence of other historically defined regions in the formation of American cultural imaginary. The proposed thesis investigates the cultural and mythological roles of such regions, including the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, the Appalachia, and the Southwest, identifying each as a significant cultural signifier in the realm of photography. The political divide in contemporary United States has led to a resurgence of photographic projects that interrogate the social and cultural notions of Americanness by documenting marginalized regions and communities. Whilst historically Regionalism has been considered as a politically right-leaning movement enforcing conservative American values (Nygard, 2020), Regionalist photography in the 21st century critiques the formation of national and regional identities, the construction of narratives, and themes of community and belonging. Thus, this research addresses the following question: how do contemporary photographers deploy, appropriate, critique, or otherwise engage with Regionalism as a cultural, critical,and/or political tool?The research is informed by David Campany's notion that "the act of picturing [America] is a primary act of diagnosis, definition and self-assertion" (Campany, 2014). Much of the scholarship on American photography ignores regional peculiarities in favour of framing photography reductively as a homogenous and nationwide category (Sontag, 1982; Green, 1984; Guimond, 1991; Gidley, 2011). Seeking to counter these regional, cultural, and historical biases, the project employs a comparative analysis to determine how the meanings and representations of place and regional identity fluctuate from one region and community to another. Case studies include, but are not limited to, Carl Bigmore's"Between Two Mysteries" (2015), a series that dissects the cinematic layers of the Pacific Northwest derived from popular culture; Nathaniel Grann's investigation of the "empty normalcy" of the Midwestern region in "Midwest Sentimental" (2018); and Bryan Schutmaat's psychological portraiture of mining communities in the American West, as seen in his project "Grays the Mountain Sends" (2013).This research disrupts the traditional canon of American photographic history in two ways: first, it traces and analyses persistent ideologies and iconographies attached to overlooked regions and communities. Second, it expands the canon to consider how such notions have been communicated and challenged by indigenous and women photographers, including for example Megan G. King and Stacy Kranitz, who havecharted the visual legacies of poverty and conservatism in Appalachia. My approach is intersectional,revealing how photographers are contributing to contemporary questions of decolonisation and the politics of representation.Autumn - Spring 2022-23 - Analysis of secondary sources available in the United Kingdom; Extensive research training and academic networking (Midlands Arts Program).Autumn - Spring 2023-24 - Gathering primary material from US archives and interviews with photographers and curators (Research Development Fund); First draft of the thesis completed.Autumn - Spring 2024-25 - Placement at a contemporary art institution; Symposium in collaboration with other M4C candidates (Cohort Development Fund); Second draft of the thesis completed.Autumn 2025 - Final draft of the thesis completed; Examination.