Expressive perspectives on the printed page: the photography of Ricardo Rangel

Castro, P. (2020) Expressive perspectives on the printed page: the photography of Ricardo Rangel. In: Serra, F., Andre, P. and Martins, S. (eds.) Projectos Editoriais: Imagens e Contra-Imagens no Estado Novo. Imprensa de Ciências Sociais: Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 275-302.

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Abstract

In this article I reflect on three key pictures by Mozambican photographer Ricardo Rangel (1924-2009) as they appeared in ‘Perspectiva RR’, a section dedicated to his photography in local newsmagazine Tempo before independence in 1975, and, in two cases, on the pages of the international monograph that made the photographer’s name, Ricardo Rangel: Photographe du Mozambique (2004). Establishing a distinction between trimming and cropping that is qualitative rather than quantitative, I argue that the images in Tempo work indirectly but emotively whereas the images in RR function directly yet with greater dispassion. Nevertheless, my ultimate conclusion, drawing on current debates in the aesthetics of photography, is that these images remain relevantly similar and thereby constitute equivalent “expressive perceptions” (a term used by Jonathan Friday to underline the crucial role of viewpoint in photographic meaning) across their printed locations, As such they remain parallel images that envision colonial Mozambique as a space of geographical separation, embodied suffering and racialised hierarchy.

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Castro, Dr Paul
Authors: Castro, P.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Hispanic Studies
Publisher:Imprensa de Ciências Sociais

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