Art, Photography, Studium, Punctum

Hi Class,

In reference to our discussion on Tuesday:

Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts – artworks, expressing the author’s imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.

The oldest form of art are visual arts, which include creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts; however, like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the practical considerations of use are essential—in a way that they usually are not in a painting, for example. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. (Wikipedia)

Further questions:

1. What is a photograph?

2. Why do we take, keep, share, and discard photographs?

3. How should we make sense of photographs? What methods can we use to understand photos better?

We will learn several ways to read and make sense of photos. Below are some specific terms that will be important for Essay 2.

The French sociologist and critic Roland Barthes wrote about photography, and he came up with several useful terms for studying photographs.

1. Studium: The studium of a photograph is the public and historical background of a photo. The studium is context and it is the general understanding. The studium of a photo must be visible, and it is the cultural reading of the faces, the gestures, the buildings, the actions within a photo.

2. Punctum: The punctum of a photograph is highly individual, not public. The punctum pierces the viewer in a particular way. The punctum, which must be visible, pierces the viewer like a arrow, raising certain individual memories and consciousnesses to the surface. The punctum bruises me but not you. The punctum is about loving, while the studium is about liking.

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Homework for Tuesday, March 8: Take a few photos and chose one that has a geometric composition. Post that photograph (make sure that the image size is under 1 Mb) that you have taken to our OpenLab site then describe it under the photo in terms of subject, setting, light, color, and any filter you used. Make sure to proof and edit your writing because this is a public site!