Gest Orfeusza: fotografia

Abstrakt

The Gesture of Orpheus: Photography

Andrzej Saj refers to the well-known Orpheus’s visit to Hades in order to bring back his beloved Eurydice. Saj offers a different interpretation of the story. In his “gesture” Orpheus confronts Greek gods by breaking their ban to look back on his way to his own realms, the realms of the real world and the world of music and poetry. Saj believes that there is an analogy between Orpheus’s gesture and the gesture of an artistphotographer. When looking back, Orpheus perpetuates the image of his lost wife’s vision as if he were taking a photograph, however, he loses the real person. Saj’s interpretation of the Greek myth is connected with modern interpretation of the essence of photography as „loss and gain” Andre Rouille. Orpheus could therefore be considered as the patron of poetry, music and visual arts, including photography. This interpretation is both symbolic and poetic in itself.