Closer readings

Abstract

In this article, I introduce the device of close reading in historical academic contexts through to contemporary queer-theoretical thought and open this up to illustration research and practice. Illustration seeks to capture the paradox of the representable and the unseen; this puts an emphasis on illustration as elucidating. For this reason, its historical origins in illumination remain core to how the subject is taught. However, if we are asking illustrators to illuminate and offer clarity on a subject, should we also ask what is being concealed? It is my intention to explore how illustration methods have the capacity to bring overlooked histories to the fore and consider what an illustrative close reading practice may offer as a visual historicizing technique.