Pollock, Van Gough, and the Photographic Negative

In our society the value of an original work of art has gotten outrageous. Paintings done by Van Gough and Pollock are worth millions of dollars, and yet the reproductions of those pieces become cheap, affordable, and can be tailored to fit your needs. There are iPhone skins and backgrouds of "Starry Night" that cost mere dollars to own.

In Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", he states that "even the most perfect reproduction . . . is lacking one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be" (3).

In terms of paintings, such as the Pollock, one can test the authenticity of the artwork through chemical analysis. But besides knowing what type of paint was used why exactly does the original rake in so much revenue? It is perhaps the element Benjamin discusses, for those paintings were in Pollock's possession. His sweat and tears likely hit the canvas, but are those things worth the over 140 million dollars?

"The uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being embedded in the fabric of tradition" (5). Works of art throughout history have been idolized and Benjamin proclaims that reproduction of art can free the art itself from the rituals and idolization. I on the other hand disagree with the idea, as reproduction of art makes the original that much more ideal. Although the art becomes reachable to the entire civilized world due to technology, there will always be individuals whose lives revolve around the creation and collection of original art works.

Benjamin touches on art that is made solely for reproducibility. The example of the "photographic negative" completely negates the idolization of authentic, original art (6). The negative itself is the original, however, it would be nonsensical to "ask for the 'authentic' print" (6). The more technical art becomes the less idolized it will be. As long as there is an artist creating art without the aid of technology, there will be ritual and tradition.

works cited:

Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. London.: Fontana., 1992. 96-102. Print.

An Essary Concerning Human Understanding

“Lockeing” in an idea

In the 17^th Century, many humans on this planet believed thoughts and ideas to be a God given gift, especially those ideas of the kings and monarchs. John Locke, an English philosopher challenged this belief in his “Essay on Human Understanding,” citing five major reasons and beliefs as to the commonality of ideas coming from a person and their own experiences in life. The five major points brought up include “idea is the object of thinking,” “all ideas come from sensation or reflection,” the objects of sensation one source of ideas,” the operations of our minds the other source of them,” and all our ideas are of the one or the other of these” (Locke, 1995, pg 185-187)

The main point of Locke’s essay is the idea that ideas stem from a person’s experiences in life. One way a person can have an experience is through sensations. Sensations are simply incidents that involve the five senses of touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. “The great source of most of the ideas we have,” according the Locke, “and derived by them to the understanding,” is sensation (Locke, 186). The other method in which an idea is created, is entitled reflection. A reflection comes from a person thinking about their own experiences and operations they have had throughout their lives. Without these sources, ideas would never come to fruition, as an idea is not simply a thought placed into a person’s head.

Locke’s thoughts can easily be applied to any scholar who is considering working on the production of a publication or similar medium. The application can all start with the conception of the publication. A person is not going to be able to create the idea out of the blue; a person needs to have a desire to create something. Going with the desire, a person needs to have some form of experience with the subject, be it a sensation or a reflective notion to create the idea, and to continue with the information shared in the publication.

Works Cited

Locke, John. “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” The Portable Enlightenment Reader. Ed. Issac Kramnick. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. 185-187

"Hypertextual Consciousness"

Leap into Uncertainty

When faced with a decision, the first thing we do is consider our options; what are they and what will be the consequences of each? After weighing our options, we make our decision. Our decision is based on knowing what will likely occur as a result. In a sense, we are taking a leap of certainty. In Mark Amerika’s Hypertextual Consciousness, we are offered a variety of links to choose from without knowing where they will lead. We cannot weigh our options because there are no determinable consequences; we are forced to take a leap into uncertainty. Nevertheless, a choice must be made.
When reading a printed work, the reader generally does not have the option to influence the outcome – the work tells us what it wants to tell us and that is it. However, options are available to the reader. The most obvious choice is to read the work as the author intended: cover-to-cover. As a reader, you can choose what chapters/sections you wish to read and which ones you would rather skip. Michel Chaouli, author of “How Interactive Can Fiction Be?” asserts that “the lack of choices on one level (the topology of the text) creates limitless choices on another (the phenomenology of reading)” (612). In this sense, “a printed book bound HTC to the page” (Amerika).
Hypertext is an alternative to print. It encourages the readers to influence it; to immerse themselves in the work. No longer are readers discouraged by an apparent linearity, as is the case with print. However, readers are now faced with a sense of uncertainty; what will be the consequence of their choice? Where will a link take them? As Amerika states, “HTC as experienced in cyberspace is creating a new form of narrativity to get lost in.” Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened; I got lost. Personally, the fact that I could not simply read the work and understand its meaning frustrated me. Also, I was a little discouraged not being able to determine if I had read Amerika’s work in its entirety. If given the choice between a printed work or a hypertext work, I think I will stick to print – at least for now.

Works Cited
Amerika, Mark. HTC: Hypertextual Consciousness. 1997. 18 Sept. 2009 .

Chaouli, Michel. “How Interactive Can Fiction Be?” Critical Inquiry 31.3 (2005): 599-617. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. UW-L Murphy Library, La Crosse,WI. 18 Sept. 2009 .