- The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin
- Extracts from Camera Lucida by Roland Barths
- What has Occurred Only Once: Barthes's Winter Garden/Boltanski's Archives of the Dead by Marjorie Perloff
- Benjamin and the Political Economy of the Photograph by W. J. T. Mitchell
Post a short (two – three paragraph) synopsis of the readings on the class blog. In addition to each text synopsis you are to provide a brief autobiographical summation of the author.
Bring to class quotes and subjects to discuss from the readings
Camera Lucida: I had a hard time understanding what was going on in this article, however, I did find that the last paragraph of the article summed it up almost completely. Barthes was saying how most photography doesn’t show the essence of the object, only the object itself. For Barthes it was only the rare and quality images that showed who or what the object of the photo was. A good image has the right lighting, cropping, post-production, but that isn’t what impressed Barthes, he was looking for the rare image with the ‘stadium,’ he needed the sting and taste for a photo to really capture him.
ReplyDelete“Photography is unclassifiable because there is no reason to mark this or that of it’s occurrences; it aspires perhaps to become as crude, as certain, as noble as a sign, which would afford it access to the dignity of language: but for there is a sign there must me a mark; deprived of a principal of marking photographs are signs which don’t take, which turn, as milk does.” What did this mean? How does he mean that photography unclassifiable?
Occurred Only Once: This piece was comparing and contrasting Barthes and Boltanski’s view of photography and the ‘photograph.’ Barthes discusses how a moment dies after the picture is taken, because that exact moment will never happen again, while Boltanski pushes the envelope as far as what is real and what he wants you to think is real.
“What has occurred only once may re-occur again and again. Or it may never have occurred at all.” How can one event happen twice? Sure, two parties can take place, two weddings, and so forth, but no two events happen the in the same exact way, in the same exact time, so are they really re-occurring, or are two different yet similar events taking place? If nothing can be the exact same way twice, how can things re-occur?
Mechanical Reproduction: Benjamin discusses the reproduction of art in this article. To me, he seemed to think that Reproduction of art was a bad thing, however, I believe that almost all forms of art are in some way a copy. “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: it’s presence in time and space, it’s unique existence at the place where it happened to be.”
“From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the ‘authentic’ print makes no sense.” While this statement holds some truth, a photocopy of the print would not be original, or if the print was scanned and re-printed, that would not be original. Because film is so easy to have re-printed, maybe all prints coming directly from that negative are authentic, or maybe the negative is the original print, and that is the only piece that is authentic. Why is there such a great need for authenticity?
Political Economy: “Is photography a fine art or an industry?” I think it is both, there is the industry of advertisements, which photography plays into, there’s fashion, landscaping, portraits and so on, photography plays into all of these in some way, and they are all an industry. Then you have the galleries and museums, which will show work of local and famous photographers, and that would be fine art. Photography isn’t black and white, it can’t possibly be one or the other.
What is it that makes photography not fine art? “The argument that photography is a fine art form is denounced as a reactionary idolatry.” Of course when photography was first invented, it was worshiped; aren’t all new inventions that become popular worshiped? For example, the ipod, iphone, ipad. There is a crazy following for Mac, and all because they are technologically savvy. When cars were first invented, there was an obsession; TV, internet, flying cross-country, all of these things were new at one point, and society was crazy obsessed. If you truly have a love for something, what’s wrong with putting your whole heart in it?
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Benjamin's 16 page essay was a rather difficult read. Often catching myself in a daze, I found myself lost and confused. However, I believe I may have extracted some valid information from the text. For example, I believe that Benjamin's main focus was the idea of him believing in a sort of loss in the auro/sorroundings in the art of photography. Sure some may believe a photograph is correct because of a proper exposure or technique, but what is different? It is almost as is if the art has shifted. A photograph is an image of an image while a painting remains an original image or painting.
ReplyDeleteWhat has Occurred Only Once: This essay was a little bit of an easier read. I feel as if I could relate to Perloff's essay rather than Benjamin's. I personally felt a relation in her theory of the art. As I read through the essay I noted a few quotes that attracted me. She spoke a lot about presence and existance. She wrote, "In photography I can never deny that the thing has been there." She also writes, "The photograph is literally an emanation of the referent." As well as, "every photograph is a certificate of presence." This last quote was particularly interesting to me. Omce the shuter is clicked, the subject no longer exists -- the moment is gone. The subject now becomes an object, a picture.
The essay became a little confusing once Perloff wrote of the dead. I understood her theory as when you are looking at a photograph, you are looking at the return of the dead... Not sure what she means of this, but it sounds interesting.
Extracts from Camera: This essay was interesting. Throughout the reading I noted several quotes Barthes wrote. For example, "I wanted to learn at all costs what photography was itself." Also, "Wasn't sure if photography existed, that it had a 'genius' of its own." What an interesting though, "a genius of its own! He defined emperical as the professors or amateurs. The rehtorical as the landscapes, portraits, and objects. The aesthetic as the realism or pictorialism. While reading the essay I often wondered, "why is photography capitalized?" I found myself interested in knowing the answer behind Bathes' reason for this. Barthes exaplains that photography repeats what could never be repeated existentially. Their are three practices of photography: to do, to undergo, and to look. The operator is the photographer, the spectator is ourselves, and the person being photographed is the target. Barthes also explains that a photograph does not have to please, interest, or intrigue him (or you), it just has to exists (for you). I suppose he means to no just observe aesthetics, but learn to analyze photos, take them apart. A photograph is always something that is represented. A form/means of rememberance, such as Barthes' mother and images of his childhood. Photography can be many things to anyone.
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin
ReplyDeleteThe aura around the work of art is lost when reproduced, the originality and authentication of the work. A photograph is just an image of an image not the work itself and there fore has no aura. Calling reproduction magic, distancing itself from the viewer where as a surgeon penetrated the body and almost becomes one with the “piece”. Film being used as shock affect, and impossible to contemplate and access rather the film is assessing us as the viewer.
“The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses”
Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) – German-Jewish critical theorist and philosopher.
Extracts from Camera Lucida by Roland Barths
What is photography? And is it an art of its own?
A photograph can not be transformed, its always “Look”, “See”, “Here it is” as it points a finger to whatever the photograph is of. A photograph consists of paper stuck and laminated to one another and by undoing it you will ruin the photograph, it will always be a photograph. If it’s a photograph of a pipe the pipe and the photo become one never to be separated.
Operator- is the photographer
Target- person or thing being photographed
Spectator- ourselves, all of us who weiv the work
Photography is anything but subtle.
“I am neither subject nor object but a subject who feels he is becoming an object”
When his mother dies, he views her in photographs not for her likeness but more as a time capsule of the things she wore, the things she surrounded her self with. Little relics to help him remember her presence.
“Just an image, but a just image”
Roland Barths (12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His writing influence many schools of theory including structuralism, semiotics, existentialism, social theory, Marxism, anthropology and post-structuralism.
Helene
ReplyDeleteA New Instrument of Vision
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
Photogram, fundamental to photography, with out “recourse or apparatus.”
Black and White- revealed light and shadow (optical Quality)
Photography as an increased optical power in terms of time and space, technically speaking.
“Unimportant if photography produces art or not” Photo laws and mechanics versus art critic.
The New Existence of Space- View the whole world.
The photo series loses individual purpose and becomes a synecdoche.
Technology integration in the arts.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy 1895-1946
Hungarian painter and photographer. Professor in Bauhaus.
Seeing Photographically
Edward Weston
Artists limitation with in his/her medium.
Photo painting rather than photography- new medium, worked with already existing ideas. Ultimately delaying recognition.
Rough Quote- - “Singers convincing musicians the sounds they where making is not art because they are produced by machines.” Mimicking human voice/Photo Painters.
Seeing your subject matter in terms of of tools and process – Finished outcome realized.
Most photographers never master, but let photography master them- Gear Junkies
Too honest of a medium to be successful as photo-paintings.
Edward Weston – The only difference of the woman and the pepper is I can cut open the woman and eat her.
Chicago, 20th Century Photographer
Form, shape and texture.
On the Invention of Photographic Meaning
Allen Sekula
Discourse is an exchange of information. Communication purposes.
Communication is a result of the need to express a point of view, an interest.
“Arena of information exchange”
A Photograph be the compete message
Without discourse photos are meaningless.
Critizing Stieglitz for doing the opposite of his intent. Camera works intent is to push photography are fine are although in produced to mass media.
Symbolism
Underlining thought – Meaning is context Driven