Questions?

1. In the essay titled Photography, Siegfried Kracauer boldly states that "Never before has a period known so little about itself." Referring to an era dominated by new technological advances involving media, Kracauer believes that innovations such as the illustrated magazine, which consists of an abundant amount of "topical" photography, are weakening the minds of mass society instead of pushing them to advance. Do you agree or disagree with Kracauer's statement about the influence of the magazine? Explain.

I find it hard to agree with the author's statement that photos "sweeps away the dams of memory" mainly because at the end of the day, a picture is still a picture. We've all heard the statement that a picture's worth a thousand words and the idea that a photo-or a compilation of many photos as in a magazine-erases the historical content to the objects captured is a bit ridiculous. For instance, the emotions people felt during America's Great Depression can be described and read in any US History textbook, but once one is shown a picture of say a starving child sitting alone on the bare floor, one is able to more clearly see the hardships of that era, the pain this person is suffering, and so forth. Photographs definitely tell their tale not by words but through images of actual events that took place in history.

2. Why does Andre Bazin call perspective the "original sin" of Western painting?

Calling perspective an "original sin" implies that the instant perspective was created, all hell broke loose in terms of the many forms and styles that emerged as a reaction to this monumental invention. Bazin states, "That is why medieval art never passed through this crisis...it knew nothing of the drama that came to light as a consequence of technological developments." This way of describing perspective however, suggests a negative way of thinking about what is to come of Western art and it's "obsession with realism" but as he gets further along into the essay, Bazin demonstrates the great qualities this new form of art possesses.