CULTURAL IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY: TRANSFORMATION OF VISUAL CODES IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
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Abstract
The article discusses how photography can be used to build, maintain and alter cultural identity in an era of globalization. The paper seeks to understand how photography influences cultural identity and visual techniques that will make the local images globally acceptable and to create a classification of cultural codes in the modern photography. The research method involves the use of semiotic analysis of the images in photographs, phenomenological study of visual perception and evaluation of the works of photographers of different cultures. The paper draws on such instances of documentary and art photography as the works of indigenous photographers who take back visual stories that were previously under colonial control and how digital technology alters the way of movement of cultural symbols. The results indicate that photography acts as both a means of maintaining a culture and a means of changing identity. Visual symbols combine local traditions with international visual language to create new cultural expressions. The study identifies three main cultural code types used in modern photography which are archived memorial and performative-ritual and dialogical-transcultural. Globalization makes photography more than a recording tool because it transforms photos into cultural identity builders who use their space to connect local elements with worldwide influences.
How to Cite
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cultural identity, photography, globalization, visual codes, representation, semiotics, indigenous photography, visual culture
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