Abstract:

Aesthetics is one of the most contemplated concepts in the field of art. Aesthetics, which can be defined as reflecting on the "beautiful" has been a pursuit of interest to many philosophers. Over the years, the aesthetic features of a work of art are being evaluated following various approaches of people of thought. In this context, the features of the aesthetic in terms of art continued to steer to determine. These efforts have made a great contribution to the development of aesthetic philosophy. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, besides being well-known thinkers within the fields of society, economy, and politics, also dealt with the aesthetic phenomenon based on literary texts. In general, the views of the thinkers about how the artist and art should approach; form the basis of the "Marxist Aesthetics" approach. Marxist aesthetics is viewed as a theoretical starting point for some artists and thinkers. Intellectual approaches to this aesthetics can be followed in the works of artists. Lee Jeffries, a photographer who will be discussed within the framework of this approach, is especially known for his portraits of homeless people in modern, developed countries. The artist has published a photo-book called Homeless The Exhibition in 2019. In this context, the portrait photographs of Lee Jeffries, selected via purposeful sampling, are analyzed qualitatively and technically with the "Formal Analysis" method proposed by Terry Barret, through the Marxist aesthetic conceptualization. To elaborate, Jeffries' photographs are involved with the "homeless", who are considered to be in the lowest class of the capitalist system. The indirect observation of their interests, the use of photography as an ideological awareness tool that reveals class conflicts and the message in the photographs are open to audience interpretation. Thus, it is possible to infer that the artist uses the elements of Marxist aesthetics in his works.

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