In Jay Prosser’s chapter titled, “My Second Skin,” the author performs a palinode in order to respond to his own “errors,” that he argued in his previous book. A palinode is a method, or a “return that realizes that realization could only come with loss from the original,” and thus he argues that he recognizes something he did not the first time around (Prosser, 163). In this instance he critiques a perception he had on transbodied photography. He admits his faults in saying, “I read the linguistic-like codes in the photographs, the studium and never the punctum, responding to where the photographer, or the textual context, would have me look in my haste to close out anything accidental, anything that might stop my narrative. This is especially obvious when my reading was determined wholly by the captions of photographs, as it most often was” (Prosser, 167). The studium he speaks of is in reference to a term coined by Barthes, and can be explained as, “the study of that which is most obvious about a photograph. These features constitute the ‘connotation procedures’ through which the photograph connotes its message” (Prosser, 167). The studium is “the tell.” This “tell” in photography (especially about transbodies) could be troublesome, because in only seeing the obvious message in the studium, we can miss the punctum, or the “accidental” interruption of how we’re supposed to see the image. Thus we can overlook perhaps another message embedded in the photograph, which is why Prosser did a palinode to revise what he missed.
In arguing to look beyond the normative message presented in transbodied photography (“the tell” that indicates the body is “trans”) let us critically analyze a transbodied photograph in the collection titled “AIRPORTFORMANCE,” by artist Del Lagrace Volcano. At first, reading the studium of this piece may show three bodies seemingly religiously dressed, posing in an airport. In further reading of the studium, we can notice the caption, “Heathrow Heathens, Hethrow Airport, London. 2004.” In fleshing out this caption, one could be determined to see “heathens”— “irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person[s]” inhabiting the space of the Heathrow, London Airport in 2004. (“heathen”) This caption indicates that although the bodies are religiously dressed, “the tell” in seeing the bodies as “trans” could be categorizing these bodies as “heathens”— they are literally faking their appearance by dressing as religious. Another “tell” could be in the title of the collection of the photography, “AIRPORTFORMANCE.” This indicates a performance is taking place, which could relate to how transbodies perform a sex, which they are not. Our analysis should not end here, because as Prosser argues, we should then look for the punctum, or that which disrupts the narrative of the photograph.
Looking beyond “the tell” of this photograph, we can notice other bodies inhabiting the frame. Behind the transbodies, we see four bodies dressed in gender-specific uniforms that are all holding signs. The body which is second to the right, who is wearing long pants and masculine boots, is holding a sign that reads, “Mr. Kip.” Mr. which in 1447, was an abbreviation of master, represents a surname of respect, power, and possession. (“mr.”) This surname is a normative title given to men. Looking on, the body on the far right wearing a skirt, stockings, and pointed feminine shoes, is hold a sign that reads, “Miss A. Bed.” The title “Miss” is often given to an unmarried woman or (school)girl. After getting married, a woman normally takes upon the surname “Mrs.” followed by her husband’s name. This is a title of respect for a married woman, and more interestingly a title of property for her husband. (“miss.”) It’s striking to see that these bodies are also performing heternormative messages, as they are dressed a certain way, and literally carry signs that denote messages of gendered power. Because this “norm” message is placed behind “the telling” transgendered message in the photograph, we can analyze the layers of power going on as a loss that transgendered bodies may feel in a society that violently advertises a binary set of gender presentation. Prosser writes about this “melancholic loss” as, “Refusing to accept the loss of something we never had—a real sex; and this refusal brings transsexuality closer to melancholia than mourning—we turn in our own skin.” (Prosser, 171) The transbodies in this “Airportformance” are representing a message that will always coexist with the dominant norm, because in essence, transgenderism reflects inwardly a perspective of a norm that is being resisted, accepted, challenged, etc. The punctum for me in this photo is the visual advertisement of something that haunts transgendered people everyday. In the background, lower level, of their conscious lies a troubling referent.
Work Cited:
Prosser, Jay. “My Second Skin.” Light in the Dark Room: Photography and
Loss. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. 163-81.
Del Lagrace Volcano. “Heathrow Heathens, Heathrow Airport, London. 2004”
http://www.dellagracevolcano.com/airport.html#10
"mr.." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Oct. 2010.
"miss." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 29 Oct. 2010.
"heathen." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 29 Oct. 2010.
It's funny to me how different one person will read a photo from another. The thing that stuck with me most in this photo was that the person dressed in "Muslim" garb is wearing entirely red. To me, that is what makes her a heathen, because in Islamic culture, bright colors (especially reds) are not allowed.
ReplyDeleteThe second thing that stayed with me were the signs. It was not because of the genderization, though. It was because Miss A. Bed and X. Hausted made me laugh, because in an airport, those titles could belong to anyone. I very much enjoyed looking from your point of view, though!
Absolutely, I never thought of analyzing the specific history of the abbreviations Mr. and Mrs, very keen observations that helped me understand the image differently. Similarly I would have never read the use of Heathen like you did, first because I didn't know what it meant and so a connection to the costumes and the title of the piece didn't ring a bell.
ReplyDeletesuper interesting post.