«DOCUMENTARY» AND ‘FICTION’ IN ZOFIA RYDET’S «SOCIOLOGICAL RECORD»

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to explore the sociological aspects of the largest photographic project by the prominent Polish photographer Zofia Rydet (1911–1997), «Sociological Record». To highlight the correlation between social and artistic visual expression. Research methods. General scientific and empirical methods, including the historical and chronological method, as well as the analysis of artistic, compositional, and stylistic features of the works, were used in the study. Results. The influence of the sociological tradition in the history of photography, in particular the parallels between the Sociological Record and the projects of the 1930s-1970s, is considered. The methodology of Z. Rydet, based on the repetition of compositions and the use of the natural environment to reveal the relationship between man and space, is analyzed. The significance of the project for visual documentary is determined. Conclusions. Z. Rydet’s «Sociological Record» is a large-scale sociological and photographic project that serves as a portrait of a generation, research, and archive at the same time. Despite its documentary nature, the series focuses on the image of a person, creating a generalized collective portrait of time through a multiplicity of identical compositions.