The aesthetic of ‘pastness’, remembering the cinematic: An examination of narrative, fantasy and memory and its continuing appeal within contemporary fashion photography, photo media and film.
This essay explores the idea of nostalgia and informs through a focused look at discussions surrounding the relationship between past and present, memory and history and the varied forms of its representation in fashion photography, film and related photo media. There is a significant amount of writing on nostalgia but there are still areas that remain under theorized. Much of this essay has been informed by key works of Pam Cook, Christina Sprengler and Laura Mulvey, these women begin to bridge these gaps and have inspired further investigation.
This essay examines the aesthetic appeal of; and in Sprenglers’words ‘pastness’, which is different to nostalgia. The first area of study in this essay traces the historical discourse of nostalgia, supporting its context in society today. Since the early 1990s nostalgia has been a phenomenon within fashion photography, film, and photo media, both commercially and independently oriented. Having noticed a growing trend remake and appropriate history to the extent whereby retro and vintage objects have become objects of commodity and capital. The question begged, why is there a preoccupation with this form of representation and why does is continue to resonate with and appeal to such a wide audience today?
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