Perception in Art

The Youtube videos we watched concerning "Ways of Seeing" say that works of art in reproductive form (e.g. photographs of the original work) lose a lot of majesty when the painting is transformed. Even though we can now see these paintings without making "pilgrimages" to the place where these paintings hang, we lose so much of the artist's message when we don't see it in it's "hallowed halls" with its special lighting.

I fully agree with this. I cannot feel the emotion of the artist in a photograph like I can when I stand in front of the original. There's something about seeing the brushstokes of the oils the artist used. Depths of color and shading of light are lost in the photograph.

The speaker also brought up the idea that women are posed to be looked at or admired by men. Back in the day.....maybe. I'm not so sure it is as prevelant as it used to be. I still see some aspects of this in advertising, but the lines are becoming more and more blurred.

We also looked at how web surfers are starting (?) to watch our every purchase and thought on the internet (or even outside the internet...think Safeway cards). So much advertisement is geared toward what these surfers find. The reading about teen online habits was particularily interesting in that the teens who knew it was taking place said that the information they put on social networking sites isn't necessarily the most factual information. It's usually either what the surfer wanted to see or it is the very best of what their friends may want to see in them.