POST 11: READING GRQ AND DISCUSSION – MARGOT LOVEJOY – THE CAMERA AS ARTIFECIAL EYE AND THE INFLUENCE OF TOOLS

 General Reading Questions

1. Camera Obscura, Camera Obscura

2. Light Sensitive Chemistry

3. Daguerrotype

4. Negative/Positive System

5. "Aura"

6. Commodity Value

7. Exhibition Value

8. Cult Value, Cult Value

9. Photomontage

10. Appropriated Elements

11. Cinematography

12. Photomechanical Reproduction

13. Eadweard Muybridge

14. Jules-Etienne Marey

15. The Dadaists

16. Russian Constructivists Rodchenko and El Lissitsky

17. The Surrealist Max Ernst

    This reading goes into detail about using the camera as an artificial eye, as a new form of representation. One thing that is super fascinating to look back on are old photographs or other media in which we can remember and memorialize the past. It is super important to capture these moments in order to better our society, and to look back for personal reasons. The article mentions how art is seen in contexts different from its original periods and settings, so as a result artwork acquires meanings that diverge from those inherent at the point of production. As someone involved in the arts, this remains true in my life as I may have one meaning to my work, but as soon as someone else views the work, the meaning changes. I think that is why art remains influential to our society, due to the various perspectives on all art. One example is when DaVinci was painting the Mona Lisa, he most likely never thought it would get as famous as it did. It was just a portrait of a woman, but that portrait expanded tremendously throughout the world. Throughout time, the painting has acquired new social meaning, value, and usage, all separate from the original meaning, value, and usage.