1. Why does Bazin feel that the painter's aesthetic world is so different from the one that surrounds him and what boundaries enclose the painter that do not limit the photographer?
Perhaps Bazin is using the discontinuities between the realm of the painter's creativity and that of reality in which he exists to emphasize the accuracy of photography. Despite the various differences in media, one would think that painting would allow the artist more freedom of representation. However, the painters attempts to create a realistic substitute for an object are limited by human involvement. By eliminating the "middle man", photography allows for an objective and accurate image to be captured.
2. What differentiates the "last image of a person" which is said to be that person's "actual history" from any other memory image?
Kracauer remarks that "The meaning of memory images is linked to their truth content" (51), which, he explains, can be derived by comparing one's conscious recollections with the perceived "truth". These elements comprise the recognized truth of the liberated unconscious that preserve the unforgettable. However, Kracauer goes on to say that "All memory images are bound to be reduced to this type of image, which may rightly be called the last image..."(51). Then perhaps our actual history is comprised of an assortment of memory images consolidated into an unforgettable last image.
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