Summaries

Chapter 7, "Revived and Remade", discussed the changing understandings of photography. It spoke mostly how contemporary photographs get their meaning not necessarily from the author's intent, but from references to other images. We, as the viewer, look at images and notice (whether we realize it or not) references to films, magazines, or other works of art. One example is Collier Schorr who who posed a German schoolboy in the same positions as paintings by Andrew Wyeth. The chapter also discusses how juxtaposition and grid work can be used to make an image (or multiple images) convey their meanings.

In the Sontag article, she discusses how photography has changed over the years. One of the more interesting things she talked about was how photographs used to be seen as an absolute truth but now (because of knowledge of editing and photographer bias) they are not seen in such an honest light. Although the perception of photography has changed, the importance of it has not. Photography is readily available to just about anyone and allows people to enjoy not only art, but experiences as well. The photograph allows the viewer to be a part of an experience, something that paintings cannot do. For this reason, photography is becoming more and more popular and will be around for a very long time.