Janet's Reading Response on Crimp

JANET’S RESPONSE TO READING ON DOUGLAS CRIMP

“The Photographic Activity of Postmodernism”

The article used this double play on the word presence. The discussion was about photography and the reproduction or copying of art. The copying of art creates a loss of the presence of the artist or the aura/soul of the art. The aura used to be about the hand of the artist and the presence of the artist; but now the discussion or view has moved to the presence and aura really coming from the image and not the artist. Postmodernism, pluralism, photography and especially technology have all facilitated the dispersal of the artist. I see this in many areas of our culture, but that is another discussion, or is it? I think photography and now technology has removed the artist, the craftsman, the human element. I believe like the aura, there has been a change through the use of technology where the image or vision and thought or concept has superseded the hand. This presence or aura is now seen in many forms of art not just painting, but photography, instillations etc… I think artists have this vision, we see things that the ordinary person passes by without even noticing. I have always seen and felt this presence, a song, a time or a place, especially in nature. That magical quality of the subject or moment, it is usually fleeting and I have always tried to capture the experience through my art. The article ends with, “the aura is now a function not a presence…presence is now a ghost.”I do not believe it is gone but, there are less people who are willing to develop the vision to see it and capture the essence or aura in a work of art. I think all this is seen in appropriating images. No longer do some artists see this as stealing another’s idea or image. We see it all the time in both the music industry and art world. In a rushed society with immediate gratification we as a society need to slow down and find that presence in our everyday life. It’s all around us!