Prof. Anna Wieczorkiewicz's speech at the conference "Otherness in art and aesthetics"
Prof. Anna Wieczorkiewicz spoke at the "Otherness in art and aesthetics" conference organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław on May 14, 2026. She presented a paper entitled Framing Extraordinary Bodies: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Media Spectacle (The Case of "Siamese Twins").
The conference explored the issue of otherness – from a broad perspective, both from a theoretical (philosophical and cultural studies) and artistic standpoint
Framing Extraordinary Bodies: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Media Spectacle (The Case of “Siamese Twins”)
lecture by Prof. Anna Wieczorkiewicz
This lecture examines selected visual frames through which, from the early twentieth century to the present, the display of non-normative bodies has been morally sanctioned, with particular attention to border zones where art and science intersect with everyday life and popular entertainment, and where expert framings are appropriated by the lay gaze. As a case study, the phenomenon of exhibiting socalled Siamese twins is examined. The term, once used without controversy and now considered problematic, signals not only a physical condition but also a stage persona and historically specific modes of staging this form of embodiment. The empirical material traces how changing media frameworks shape the biographical trajectories available to people with nonnormative bodies, from freak show and vaudeville to reality television and social media. A comparative analysis of these media configurations reveals shifts in aesthetic forms of presentation and in the ethical regimes of looking.
