What Photography is -- James Elkins
Photography has become one of the major art genres. According to James Elkins, Camera Lucida is a very important book that plays a critical role of photography as an art genre. I was confused because I did not have a chance to read the book. I will read the book Camera Lucida during the summer.
I will talk about the parts that I agree with Elkins in. In the preface, James Elkins is trying to address that Roland Barthes missed an aspect of photography in What photography is. The main term of Camera Lucida is punctum which is the pain or emotion that relates to the absence of the person and the events. However, Elkins focuses on other parts of the photography. They are not personal objects like Barthes’.
The selenite window symbolizes that it does not represent the world. The black ice is a metaphor that people cannot see beyond the surface of the ice. The rock salt indicates something that cannot be seen. Through these objects, Elkins focuses on the view of the imperfect world.
In chapter three, James Elkins questions with perversity; what is real photography? As the different views of Barthes, he mentions, for instance, Mark Klett’s project and Humphrey’s project are documents. In addition, he says the photographs of Susan Sontag are the warning that repeated images desensitize others.
Elkins wants to look at photos as a medium for art, yet Barthes valued photographs that contain the puctum in chapter four. Elkins bought a packet of anonymous photographs from e-bay. He imagines diverse stories from the photos.
In conclusion, photography is a medium, like silk screen for an artist intention. Silk screen is a printing technique, and it was used as the tool for the commercial and industrial purpose. However, Andy Warhol utilized the silk screen technique for art to express the flat and empty images from media. Most important thing is the intention of an artist.
Why Art Cannot be Taught --James Elkins
I found that a quite number of famous artists like above who have hugely influenced in modern art history did not major in art. It was a shock knowing the fact while I was reading this book. Why art cannot be taught? James Elkins questions many points why art cannot be taught. In the first chapter, he explains the history of art academies in Europe. Curriculum and teaching focused on techniques; from ancient to Baroque academies, people ignored students’ creativities and uniqueness. It is opposite to today which values in artists’ differences and ingenuity. Previously, it could be understood the fact that the status of artists was like the role of a camera.
James Elkins also mentions the importance of expansion of art and process of the curriculum due to technologies and social diversities by globalization. Specifically, in postmodern era, he explains many problems, for instance, what cannot be learned in art department because of the difference of art department among other department in college, how do decoration and design combine with art and how postmodern art achieves humor. The impressive thing to me is the curriculum that depends of the teachers and students what to teach and what to learn. That conclusion leads me to have the question that I have searched seriously for in my artistic quest.
In chapter three, Elkins examines that art can be taught, because art is irrational yet teaching art is rational. It is possible to teach aesthetics, art history and skills. However, these are not the goal of art. The question to the teaching of art is the same that I mention above in this writing. If people can teach art, all famous artists should have degrees from prestige schools.
The writer is also pessimistic in critique in the last chapter. Critique is totally different field of art like teaching. It is difficult to understand because of many causes such as allotted short time for critique, emotion, misunderstanding by a lack of terminology between a student and professor, or idiosyncratic commentary. The writer suggests the compartment for critique format in the department, school or medium could help to deal with these difficulties.
In conclusion, the writer said the idea of teaching art is absurd because art is an irrational part that cannot be explained with logic. Art is subtle, symbolic, emotional and illogical world. All people can do is that encouraging, inspiring and suggesting to mediocre artists like me to be a better artist and to get a better artistic ability in various ways.
