Ways of Seeing Part 2
* “Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before”
Because of perspective and new knowledge, viewers of art today view the art today in a different way as people in the past viewed it. According to Berger, “Perspective makes the single eye the centre of the visible world.” This gives individuality to perspective because each eye sees art in a different way. Even if people agree on a piece of art, they are still viewing it in a different way, their own.
* According to Berger, what has the process of mechanical work reproduction done to the status of the work of art?
The status of the work of art is lowered through the process of mechanical work reproduction because it removes the originality of the piece, the sovereignty. It distorts the original image.
* How has the idea of uniqueness changed for the work of art?
“When the camera reproduces a painting, it destorys the uniqueness of its image”. The camera creates a duplicate image that undermines the original and takes away its value and authenticy. The art is also unique to its surrounding and by taking a picture of the art and removing it from its original environment, we take away a part that is unique to only that piece of art.
* What is the “religiosity” of art that Berger discusses?
Paintings that may have none or little religious meaning are sometimes placed in rooms all alone, resembling chapels. These works of art now are presented as spiritual and gain a “bogus religiosity” that is dependent on their market value.
* How is the idea of sacred culture of art exploiting authority?
“…reproductions are still used to bolster the illusion that nothing has changed, that art, with its unique and undiminished authority, justifies most other forms of authority…” According to Berger, since art is reproduced and used by almost anybody, its sacredness is taken away. The original could be copied, sold, then copied and sold to someone else.
* Why should collages replace museums?
By placing pictures, letter, or other snapshots together, they become connected in the same language. Therfore they all become equal and personal to the person who made those connections. This would give museums a more personal feeling.
* How and why is Berger trying to “recover” art?
Berger wants to recover art because, through reproduction, its original state has been lost. It was be revovered “if the new language of images were used differently”. This is like his collage idea in museums.
“The Loss of the Creature” Part 2
Percy moves from example to example in his writing. This shift in perspective adds a dynamic structure to the text that allows the reader to understand the concept from a different point of view. Percy uses his example of tourists at the Grand Canyon to relate to the reader in a way that is a second hand type of experience. He has the reader think of how they would have viewed the situation if they were the tourist. He then switches his perspective to student studying in a lab, thus relating to the reader in a first hand account, assuming that the reader is a student. Percy’s use of examples shows his nondiscriminatory manner in developing a topic.
The loss that Percy discusses is the loss of individual thought. The preconceived notions that drive people to make assumptions create the “Loss of the Creature”. The loss of sovereignty is created through the loss of independence of making thoughts on one’s own without the help of outsiders. If asked not to call this notion Percy’s own prejudice, these concerns belong to the explorers and the everyday people who choose to think for themselves. For example, the Falkland Islander who explores his dogfish is unconsciously sharing Percy’s thoughts about taking things into one’s own hand. He does this, not out of force and preconceived notions like the student, but out of outright curiosity. It’s hard to say whether a person is truly thinking for themselves without any preconceived judgement because even if the person is unaware, they may be making judgements that relate to someone else’s earlier statement.
Percy did not bring actual accounts and testimonies into his essay maybe because his views would not have been favored by those he would have interviewed. For example, if he were to ask the tourists at the Grand Canyon why they chose to explore the canyon with expectations already made, they may have made an argument contrary to Percy’s and tried to defend their case that they came up with their own expectations. Personally, I would not like to be told that I am acting as a follower with preconceived notions of every day actions. This choice of Percy’s to use anecdotes shows that Percy is strong in his beliefs and does not need to have proof. Instead he leaves the reader to make their own judgements of whether or not to favor his ideas.
Walker Percy’s “The Loss of Creature”
I found the reading to be very interesting. Through the use of examples, Walker Percy stressed his ideas of the loss of being as well as the loss of sovereignty. Although the reading connected Percy’s theories, I was still left with unanswered questions. This may be due to my misunderstanding of Percy’s style of writing, or possibly it was an intention of Percy’s to leave the reader with an open mind. With Percy’s use of the Grand Canyon and people as judging their experiences based on other’s, I was left with the question of “Why did he make this generalization?”. “Was the generalization that people are followers based on actual statistics or just his own observation?”.
I was left confused when Percy developed his argument about the laboratory experiment. He mentioned the word “specimen” as a loss of being. I don’t think that because it is worded “a specimen of…” that it is a loss of being, but this reaction may be due to my misinterpretation. Another part that I struggled with was the part about the couple’s anxiety during their encounter at Guanajuato. Percy writes”A fellow Iowan might emerge from a dobe hut; the chief might show them his Sears catalog.” I don’t understand the relevance of this idea in the context of the passage.
This reading relates back to our discussion of “cliche” because it deals with many cliches in society that shape how a person views a situation or place. The sightseer who discovers the Grand Canyon may say “Why this is every bit as beautiful as a postcard!”. The sightseer is basing his views on his preconceived notion of what the Grand Canyon will look like. Percy suggests that this is how people base their options, thus creating cliches because the general public goes along with these views instead of individualizing the circumstance and thinking for themselves.
Liberal Arts College Picture Assignment
Statue of Liberty represents freedom: A liberal arts college offers freedom of thought, in which students are not tied down to one idea. (This picture was originally uploaded by Captain Mayhem)
Christopher Columbus represents opportunity to explore without limits: A liberal arts college allows a student to explore beyond the limits of education and discover new “lands” (ideas). (www.historyofcuba.com)
Chinese culture represents the general understanding of new ideas and theories different from one’s own. Like trying to understand and appreciate a different culture, students at a liberal arts college get the chance to take classes that are different from their major in order to create a better understanding of all “cultures” (subjects). (www.faluninfo.net)
Literature book represents well rounded knowledge:A liberal arts college recquires that students take classes in literature, history, and other subjects that create a well-roundedness. (http://media.com)
