Zaangażowanie jako metoda. Badania artystyczne w najnowszych dokumentalnych publikacjach fotograficznych

Photography emerging from the documentary tradition has continued to evolve over the recent years, nearing the scientific practices applied in the study of the social and community-based dimensions of culture. Photographers conduct experiments in the social space, reflect on the interactions and dependencies that they intentionally create, and construct languages of communication subordinated to the interpersonal relationships in which they operate. As authors of their art-based research, they are in charge of both methodology of analysis (by adapting the tools employed by the humanities and social sciences) and the ways in which their results are presented and included in the social mainstream as artistic interventions, collective practices, and photography publications. Given that the latter are the subject of this article, it focuses on three selected publications and identifies engagement as a central category for methods used by artists to establish a relationship with the studied social reality, influence it, and create knowledge about it. Engagement, in both its versions – as an attempt to have an impact on the studied social reality and as a method of intentional relationship building within a community, carries a significant learning potential, allowing us to look anew at the role of photography in qualitative social research.