The Aesthetics of Posing

This thesis develops an aesthetics of posing, using a framework of analytic aesthetics supported by both contemporary and art historical examples. It responds to a distinct lack of literature in aesthetics dealing directly with posing as a concept and common tool used in art making. It moves beyond existing art historical accounts, which, understandably, tend to focus on the artworks and their content, or the limited archival information available about life models. While posing is treated within a context of photography, and subsequently touches on editorial and commercial modelling, this research does not aim to add to the sociological and anthropological scholarship on the fashion industry's economic and creative exploitation. Instead, it offers a philosophical account of the qualities that constitute posing, by analysing its function within traditional visual media, photography, and fashion runways. Models' experiences are increasingly (self-)reported, unveiling a precarious, at times very in-the-public-eye, position within the art sector and advertising industry. Understanding posing within this context of art making, in turn, ameliorates our aesthetic understanding of how modelling constitutes a skilled artistic practice. Posing can be understood as an artistic tool which the model expertly employs. This thesis traces how the model deeply influences art making, its resulting artworks, as well as their reception.