Amy Joy Vos Dillinger

As an art historian, I've always been drawn to the why and how certain images have been elevated to the level of fine art. In my undergraduate studies, I discovered the photographer Nan Goldin, and was drawn to her photos. She was capturing her everyday before the advent of social media and was unapologetic with the images she made and the narrative she chose to share, which led to my continued interest and exploration into her work.

The MA in Visual and Critcial Studies program reinforced my love of research and making connections visually and theoretically across varied forms of media, and I've realized that while I may not be creating something wholly visual, my writing practice is still an art form.

The driving force behind my research is to address gaps within the study of trauma as it applies to images of individual trauma, specifically instances of domestic violence. I examine photographs by female photographers who present distinct perspectives of witnessing their own experiences of domestic violence and the narratives that accompany them. By applying a study that has been previously relegated predominantly to literature to analyze photographs, I also situate an otherwise taboo subject within the greater conversation of this academic field.