Chapter 5 - Visual Technologies, Image Reproductions and the Copy

"One way of understanding the history of imaging technologies has been to examine how the introduction of a particular invention, such as the photographic camera, changed things in the world(by changing the way we see, or changing how we use images, and so forth)." - pages 183-184.

The invention of the photographic camera gave us the leap forward in what we believed was real. Animals, people and places could now be photographed as proof of their existence. This was in a time when airplanes did not exist so the only form of crossing oceans was by boat, which could take up to a week, and places that could not be traveled to by car were unknown to the majority of the world's population. Photographs of the time were taken as empirical proof.

"The introduction of sequential photography and motion pictures film in the late 1800s corresponded with an increased desire to visualize movement in increasingly mobile and fast-paced society of the late-nineteenth-century modernity. "- pages 185-186

The thought of movement thru moving pictures was considered a novelty to the wealth. Scientist saw it as a valuable way to understand the motion of animals and ourselves, giving us a better understanding of how our bodies work and move. It also fed our thirst for new technologies.

"The juxtaposition or combination of two images to create a third meaning, a concept based on the dialectic ( the idea that each meaning builds on the previous one to create a more comprehensive meaning) and theorized famously by Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, remains a central component of understanding how films make meaning." - page 189

Films in a way are nothing more than a large set of montages. Backdrops and scenery lend to a movie a sense that helps us believe or not believe a story. Older silent films relied on such things heavily because they were limited to the inserted text, unlike the movies we are all used to. The leap to sound changed our movie going experience forever. We no longer relied on backdrops or scenery to understand what was going on, but their role in the movies remained unchanged.

"Photography offers neither the direct touch not the direct look of the artist on the work in its process of production." - page 193

Photography is just that, photograph. There is no brush strokes. No pencil lines. Photography capture what is there, nothing more. This was the case before the invention of digital cameras. Film camera have an unblinking eye that can't show you what isn't there and because of such, they were a very important tool for science and capturing the untouched wilds of the world before they were gone.

"Benjamin argued that the one-of-a-kind artwork has a particular aura. Its value is derived from its uniqueness and its role in ritual, meaning that it may carry a kind of sacred value whether religious or not." - page 195

It is this kind of sacred value that drives those with money to try and possess these kinds of works of art. But for what? That some of the artists fame or abilities might some how be imbued to the new owner? Or is it a false sense of prestige from knowing you had the kinda of money to throw away on an old painting?

I know some people would give me shocked looks at calling these "Works by the Masters" old paintings, but in truth that is what they are. While they maybe nearly flawless, with invisible brush strokes done by a very artistic hand, at the end of the day, they are still just paintings that have survived a long time.

Which begs the question, What will be considered sacred works of art in 100 years? Or 200?

"It is central to this concept that reproduction allows images to circulate with political meaning and that mechanically or electronically reproduced images can be in many places simultaneously and can be combined with text or other images or reworked." -page 199

Reproductions give those who would otherwise not see such things in real life, the ability to see them up close. Reworking an image allow others to express their feelings towards social climates, political parties and government policies while staying anonymous.

Either of which are things that should be universally acceptable, but they aren't. Taking one of the "Works by the Masters" and reducing it to a common everyday image made our of everyday materials, like legos, while fasinating, some people view it as sacrilege.

"Copyright, taken literally, means "right to copy". The term refers to not one but a bundle of rights. This bundle includes the right to distribute, produce, copy, display, perform, create, and control derivative works based on the original. ......... Copyright grants legal protection to the "expression of an idea", not the idea itself." - page 204