The Pictorial Reproduction of Art Made through the Camera - Essay Example

Camera Makes Art Less Valuable Essay 7th July, Camera Makes Art Less Valuable Art is a form of expression of self, art is best describedwhen delivered on paper by a painter personally. It shows the deep thoughts and a whole new experience about the image being drawn. An image that is put to paper stays on the paper forever, it does not capture a moment rather it captures a feeling. This feeling makes the audience to be a part of the painting and the site. With the introduction of camera the capture of feeling has changed to capture of moment and it does not portray the similar emotions. Camera art is not a replacement to hand painted images but people have started seeing it this way and for this reason Camera Art is becoming more popular and the painted art is becoming less valuable. It is easy to capture the same moment again but is it impossible to capture the same feeling again. With the introduction of camera art the audience is losing the general sense of imagination, a place that exists in real and can be seen by the naked eye. As compared to painted art which cannot be recreated, even if the same image is being reproduced by the same artist it will give another feel all together. The beauty of art is it explains the inner deep emotions of the painter, an image which might or might not exist in the real life, an imagination that might or might not create a meaning. The way we see things is interpretation of what we know or believe about it. From the image of sunset to the creation of the concept of heaven and hell, everything was assumed to be an imagination in the minds of the creator. Even if the sunset can be seen but the color and added creation was what made the painting an art. Art also evolved over time and when the definitions of the concepts changed the same was reflected onto canvas. We see a same person different and complete if we are in love with him, the feeling of love creates a perfect image because everyone wants to see a complete image of the person they fall for. The sight of camera art is limited to what we see in real life, they cannot create images that do not exist, they can create images that are special for one and ordinary for others, they can even create the feel of the place. They limit the imagination of the thinker and audience; they limit it because a person can use his five senses to actually see the place instead of thinking beyond. It isolates the thinking because it can only be thought of way it is projected; the click of the moment explains the essence of the picture taken. It is mechanically recreating of stimuli. When we see a painting we are not looking at one thing, rather we go deep into understanding the relationship between things and ourselves, everything is moving, evolving and changing and with the change our vision is in constant movement as well. We are continuously thinking, moving and holding things in a circle around us, this movement makes us shift between the past, present and the future. It is the time that defines the meaning of the things surrounding us, the change in the feeling and how we perceive them. For this reason an image is a site that been recreated and reproduced. With time the image takes over with a new meaning, but the camera image remains the still. It has the same meaning to the image that was taken at the time. It is presumed to be a mechanical record and that is why it does not bring forth any changes with the changing times. The first painting that was created was created with the meaning of presenting things that had no physical existence, things that were absent from the nature. With the increase in knowledge and information about our environment, meaning of certain things changed the painting that were once created as to reflect an unseen image became a representation of what the painter might have thought about the concept at the time of making the painting. This gave us another meaning into how people had once seen the concept and believed, it created history with respect to meaning of certain subjects. There was certain mystery to the paintings, this mystery made them more appealing to the audience. For example if we looked at a landscape created by a painter we would start imagining the place to be real, with what might be beyond the creation. Fran Hals two most famous painting were the depiction of the Governors and Governess created in the year 1664. In the painting the writer states that each woman has her own explanation, they have their own stories to tell and yet they are all linked by the arrangement created in the painting. The dark background brings completeness to the painting along with white tones of the skins. This is no evidence as to how the character of the paintings was linked; it is left with the seeing eyes and their view and judgment about the painting. The mysterious element of the picture has little do to with the explanation of the created piece and more with what the mind can think. It is a process of explaining what might have been the evidence instead of what is being quoted. Today we see the art of past in a manner that was never seen before, the audience has started perceiving it in different ways. The difference can be understood as to what we thought and what it actually represented. The perspective makes the eye as the central point of coverage, a point from where the world could be seen according to the viewer. As everyone sees the art in their own form that is why there is not reciprocity of visual designs. Camera is a mechanical eye, which can only show you the world form one perspective, the lens of the camera can take one angle of the photo and it does not depend on how many times you take the same image it will give the same result. The perspective is not with the one who is creating the image because the last lens is of the camera. That is why the meaning of the same image taken by various people at various time would portray a similar meaning. The camera moves with the image, they capture each and every moment into the camera, one does not have to imagine what might come after or what might have happened before. It is limited human with respect to time and space, and one can only see what the mechanical eye wants us to see. There is no creativity of colors, design, landscape, creatures that might exist for the feeling that the painter wants to create. The camera click is a click of the moment and destroys that idea of images that are created with respect to timeless. The lens is same for all photographers, they might choose different subject but the result of them remains the same. The beauty of art was the creator made the art unique and centered to his concept. The concept might or might be a reality but the audience could connect to each painting and could see and relate to the meaning they thought was most appropriate in their minds. Each painter was the center of a different perspective and each painter gave a different feel to what was seen by the audience. The introduction of camera eroded this concept, the view was one and the meaning was one because the center of perspective was not humans anymore it was machines. Not only did the camera changed the center perspective of the image but at the same time it started changing the meaning of images that were created before the concept of camera even existed. The building and their interiors were recorded through painting and were thought of as an integral part of the building. Each painting depicted a different angle of the building and that is why each painting was considered unique. The painting could be transported from one place to another but the beauty of the paintings was they only had one copy and could not exist in two places at one time. With the advent of camera it destroyed the uniqueness of the painting by recreating it and the recreation was not the only copy that existed. The images became public property and lost the meaning of being important. The same camera took pictures of the painting that was created, and the people who made effort into traveling places to see the art piece could see it on television, internet and even in books. People started caring less for the original piece as they could have a copy in their homes and other visible places. The paintings were further converted into wallpaper art and were showcased by many public and private properties. It is not a piece of art anymore, it is a point of showcasing the art, everyone starts discussing the painting but not for what is was created for and these painting started to lose their meaning as well. It entered into various building and houses and all of them looked at a different point of view. The introduction of camera has taken the piece of art to the households and the audience instead of taking the audience to the piece of art. Even if the spectator reaches the place to find the original piece the motivation behind the travel is diminished, as he has seen the art and studied the meaning. It only is a painting which is behind class frames. The originality remains the feature of the painting but it does not motivate the people to travel long distances to see just a painting, they see the reproduced art, if the person is an art lover might even see the original and find some features lacking but in case he is not fond of going in depth of the image he would be very much satisfied by the piece he has. Although he would not travel to see the painting but might travel to see places and in those purposes might also see the painting as part of tourism. The mystery feature of the original painting changes in the context of reproduction of the similar piece, and it is no longer what is explains rather what it originally is. Leonardo De Vinci is one of the most finest painters that the world as ever seen, his painting are now just a piece which hangs on the wall of National Gallery. The place itself sells reproduction of the same art form. The painting that thought to have a deeper meaning and was meant to convey the inner and deeper secrets of the time now hangs in everyone’s place. The room is like a chapel and the drawing is kept behind bullet proof glass. It is high in its market value but each one of us has the same painting at their place which makes them less interested in the original piece. Majority of the population today find themselves less related to the piece of arts that were created before, they don’t visit museums and art galleries, they are less interested in placed with cultural values. Audience have taken a different meaning of such places, they believe that a museum reminds them of a church, library, a lecture hall and a mixture of the three concepts. They have distance themselves from the beauty of art because they don’t want to dig deeper into the meaning. One of the reasons that people are no more interested in finding out the meaning and feeling is the pictorial reproduction of art made through the camera. Going forward in view there are certain people who move with the age of technology, they find it easy to capture art through camera, they believe that the art would live and sustain for a longer time. The audience believe that is not only the ease with which art can be captured and stored but in the moving time people find less time for creative art, this way they can bring forward a whole new world across the globe. People would be able to see places they cannot see otherwise, they would be able to feel the atmosphere that they would not feel otherwise. The monotonous of the art is not destroyed by the camera but it is preserved even more. There is a huge market of people who support camera lens over painted art. In a painting all elements needs to be seen simultaneously, and the spectator may need time to examine these elements. It is time that we need to appreciate the originality of the painting and preserve it; for the painters that have been in the past, for painters that want to be a part of the today and painters who want to create an image in the future. There should be certain law against reproduction and usage of the painted art. The camera has already taken much from the painted art but still efforts can be made to ensure that the essence of painted art is still preserved. Bibliography Berger, John. Way of Seeing. Analytical. London: Penguin Books, 1988. Read More