Reading Assignment #3

On the Poverty of Student Life

1) I, unfortunately, do not understand this reading as well as the others. From what I can gather from what I have read, though, he is trying to say that the 'poverty' of students and why they are despised is connected to society's treatment of them and how the universities and government are established. Is he trying to push for a change in politics in order to give a better life to students? Do you believe that students are as 'lowly' and 'hated' as he makes them out to be? If you could somehow change something about Universities and schools in general to improve student behavior, what would you do?

Reading #3: Situationist International and the Students of Strasbourg, “On the Poverty of Student Life”

Please download and read before MONDAY, July 2. Post 1-2 comments or questions on the blog!

On the Poverty of Student Life

Reading Assignment #2 Question

Experimental Music- John Cage

From what I can understand, what Cage is trying to say is that music should not just be a combination of sounds  that is purely intended to insert emotions in its listeners, but instead be a combination of sounds that work on their own to bring out a mix of emotions and give the listeners something new. How do you think Cage would feel about the music we have today, where a majority of popular songs are composed of computer produced sounds, and lyrics that are meant to provoke simple emotions?

Reading #2 Question

From this quote, "Some employ chance operations, derived from sources as ancient as the Chinese Book of
Changes, or as modern as the tables of random numbers used also by physicists
in research," do you know any examples of music created in this way?  Also, where does "music" in general currently stand in the art world (is classical music a "fine art" or such?).  Thank you!

Reading #1 Question

Throughout the essay, Benjamin is trying to describe how the introduction of film into the society of art has changed both the definition of art and the observance of the audience.  Why is it that the concept of reproduction of art in older times vs. modern times and the topic of architecture are elaborated in just as much, if not more, detail than his thesis?  Such as in the example of surgeon and magician, why does Benjamin wish to compare painting and film as if they were of equal standing and thus prove one "penetrates" the viewer more than the other?

Reading 1 Question

In the reading, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin compares the older form of art and more modern form of art. Is Benjamin trying to say that one is "less" of an art than another depending on the time period and the way it was created? And what does he mean when he says that the work of art is missing "its presence in time and space?"

Reading Assignment #1 Question

Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.  

1. By the end of the reading, Benjamin's opinions on film, and the technological advancement of society, come off as rather negative. It seems as if he is saying that while such advancement is a good thing, it is turning people into 'absent-minded' viewers. One of the reasons is because in film, for example, the viewer is not looking at the actor from their perspective but through the camera's perspective. Do you agree that such art forms, such as film, don't have the same 'aura' as traditional works because they are made using technology?