Embodied Translation and Photography: "Touching Strangers"

In class on Wednesday, we discussed the concept of embodied translation from an article we read by Gust A. Yep. The author cites K.R. Chavez’s definition of embodied translation as “the process of reading and making sense of ‘other bodies’” (Yep, 120). In class, photography was mentioned as a powerful medium for representing this concept. Afterward, I remembered a news story from August about photographer Richard Renaldi and his “Touching Strangers” project in New York City. I have provided a link to the CBS News story and video here.

The project involves Renaldi placing strangers in intimate embraces for portraits. I find this series to be a great example of a mediated deconstruction—a “quaring” of sorts—of embodied translation for the viewer and participant. And for this reason, I argue that the series creatively challenges the way in which we read and make sense of other bodies. The process provokes various components of embodied translation, including textual signifiers of the body, such as the gender, race, age, and clothing of the participants; nonverbal communication, seen in participant-described awkwardness and subsequent comfort; verbal communication during the photo shoot; the primary context of New York City; and the historical and cultural context of the participants.

After watching the news video, what are your thoughts on how Renaldi uses photography to deconstruct the process of embodied translation? How could we look at this project from the interpretive and/or critical paradigms? 

--Michael