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Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Friday, February 17, 2012

Walter Benjamin- The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction- Section 9


Walter Benjamin- The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936)
Discussion on section 9 

Shift from painting to photography, theatre to movies. Photography isnt just an extension of painting: Aura is lost in this process, and we think certain dynamics are inherent to these mediums, but not necessarily so, and these dynamics maybe inherent to milieu in which it worked out instead. Medium has something inherent to it and when you move from it, something changes to it.

Eg: Digital Classroom course by Pinto and CSCS- studied how education has changed and is changing with introduction of technology.
Eg: Tagore tried to remove 4 walls of classroom but still there was only 1 knower. Now with tech, its no more about 1 to many but from many to many.
Eg: Blackboard evolution: from writing on sand, to slate, to blackboard, to OHP/ computer/ white board... and sometimes all at the same time. And on computer itself you can keep shifting screens from wikipedia, to youtube, etc. Eg: with online couses (like Pinto‘s Masters course or my certificate course), people can chat on other things other than the course and no one will know, due to multiple windows.

So what is role of teacher now?

So, what is the thing that if you remove, the whole thing will collapse. Eg: if you breathe pure oxygen, you wont survive, but if u remove oxygen from the mixture then you will die!

So in education, teacher is most important- you can have a building without students and it will still be an educational institution.

So teacher is a function. Teacher has to certify, they can fail or pass students. No office staff can do this, you can have them arrested.

But can computer decide pass fail? Eg: with multiple choice exams.

So yes, then teacher function is gone.

New model coming in education, where it doesn’t matter if u went to school/ college or not, or where you went to study, as long as you complete your national exam. Eg: in computers and medicine

All poets and philosophers, until Renaissance, were warriors- Plato’s uncle had to give him bail. With Romantic age, they could be full time poets.

Section 10



Benjamin moves to spaces, other objects, and the mechanical representations of the same (painting to photo, etc). So if photography takes the place of representing image, cinema takes job of represrntaing moving image. Not that the former disappears, but something happens to the former. So painting goes abstract. In India, painting was never (?) representative of reality, except with Ravi Vama. In Europe, it was achieved with Rembrandt. With Monet, began communicating emptions, expressions, etc. With camera, painting goes abstract- eg: Cubism, Dali- because now camera will do it for you.

Similar with cinema and theatre. In theatre after cinema, there now arose a specialised role of the director, who gave his interpretation of the text, which neednt be the authorial interpretation of the text. Playrights no more direct their plays. Eg: Karnad wont direct his plays, he doesnt want to impose their views on their work. 

Thus now, a critic is born. Point is no more about what the author said, but what the critic said. 


Thursday, March 29, 2007

Workshop on Art and Architecture Criticism

Department of Media Studies

Christ College (Autonomous) Bangalore

Workshop on Art and Architecture Criticism

Date: 16, 17, 18, 19 April 2007

Time: 9.30 -1.00 pm

Venue: Christ College

Max no of participants: 15

Course Fee: 500

(Includes course material, certificate, tea)

For registration and details contact:

Visit: http://anilpinto.blogspot.com/

Or

Mail to : ajpinto42 at yahoo.co.in

or

Meet: Anil Pinto, Dept of Media Studies

Following is the rough syllabus. A detailed syllabus will follow.

Module I

Elements of art and architecture

Analyzing visual material

History of art and architecture through the concept of Beauty

The role of art in society and history

The performance of architecture in society and politics

Module II

Frameworks of criticism

Types of writing

Aspects of journalism

Module III

Field visits to two architecturally rich sites and two art galleries will be a part of the course.

Instructor

Kaiwan Mehta
Architect and Urban Researcher; Research scholar – Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore; Senior Lecturer - K Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai; Assistant Editor - Indian Architect & Builder.


Monday, March 12, 2007

As the Philosophy course concludes....

A big thank you to all of you for enthusiastically participating in the Philosophy course. I am sure the course has benefited you immensely.

Personally, it is an emotional moment for me. I have lost count of the various programes I have organised for my students in the past. But this was special in that it was neither fashionable to have philosophy course nor was it considered 'current', 'relevant', 'useful' by anyone I spoke to. Your response and support only encourages me to go ahead with the dreams that I dream. Thanks a million. I hope and earnestly request you that you take what you have picked up/learnt ahead in your own little ways.

I thank Sundar for being so flexible and approachable. It's rare that a person of his caliber is also so approachable. I wish that many more youngsters across Bangalore benefit from him.
I must thank Fr Principal and Fr Vaghese for their support. They have gone beyond the institutional constraints to have this course. For those of you who are not aware, this is the only certificate course happening outside the regular certificate programmes. In that way it is a special concession offered by the college.

Can't forget Padmakumar and Solomon who have been always there to manage the arrangements so that I could attend my law classes or some seminar/workshop somewhere. I owe a special debt of gratitude to them. I also appreciate their eagerness to learn new things and pray this spirit spreads among other staff as well.

Thanks to ever-encouraging Kennedy, my HOD, for permitting to have the course under the banner of the dept.

I wish that you come up with suggestions to see how we can move forward from here
I am organising a course in Art and Architecture criticism for three days between 15 and 20 April 2007. Those of you who are interested may get in touch with him. The course will be taught by Kaiwan Mehta, himself a pracising art and architecture critic, journalist and professor or architecture.

Good luck for 5000 word essay!

anil