Cinematography Continued

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC1bNfpHT54&feature=related

Following my previous post about cinematography as a form of art, I found this clip from the documentary,  Visions of Light (1993), which has several film makers talk about film and their personal relationship with how they create art.

Cinematography as a Form of Art

Although we have not yet talked about cinematography in class, I believe that it is a very special form of art. In fact, it is one of my favorites. The art of cinematography can have many different aspects, just like any other type of art, such as a painting. Directors over the years have created many different and unique films, and currently with the way technology is rapidly growing, film will become even more popular and people will be able to create even more. Even in the past 80 years, we have gone from black and white films with no sound to scenes with special effects, CGI, and surround sound. Who knows where film will be in the next 80 years.

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Benjamin

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be."

After reading this essay, I found myself to agree with Benjamin's position of the reproduction of art, particularly the quote listed above. Current technology can almost perfectly reproduce a piece of artwork. The key word in this previous sentence, is "almost." An artist creates a piece of art and puts in a specific place that he or she wants it to be viewed. To view a picture of a beautiful piece of artwork is not nearly the same as seeing the actual piece, no matter how high the quality of your camera. The area in which the artwork is located has a very large effect on many aspects of a painting, including the meaning, the painter's  message, and the mood. To view the original piece of artwork in its original place gives it so much more value and meaning than to see it in a magazine or on a computer screen. 

Although you can tell from a picture of a piece of art that it is beautiful, you can never fully capture its beauty unless you go an see it yourself in person.

A Connection Between Winterson's Art Objects and Sontag's Against Interpretation

The writings of both Winterson and Sontag both involved interpretation and communication of art, which I found quite interesting. Winterson talked about how art can convey a meaning to a person, and to understand a painting, you must stare at it for a long period of time, and try to notice things in it that aren't usually noticed when the painting is viewed for a short period of time. Sontag however, took a diferent approach to interpretation of art. She talked about how people can search for meaning in a piece of art, when the actual artist did not intend for a meaning in his or her work. Sontag says that people can also gather their own opinions about the meaning of piece of art and then believe that the artist was actually trying to convey this message, when in reality it was only the viewer's opinions. 

Personally, my position on this matter is more in between of these two ideas. I believe that art can convey a message, however, I also believe that people do search for messages in art that simply aren't there. People in any subject matter always have their own opinions about what something means, and are likely to always believe that their opinion is the right opinion.