The War Photographer reading that was done for Thursday really put the previous Sontag reading into perspective for me. Especially when Sontag mentions the quote, “The photographs are a means of making ‘real’ (or ‘more real’) matters that the privileged and the merely safe might prefer to ignore” (Sontag 7). I believe that the same applies to the Guardian reading we did for this week. So…
The pieces shown in the smart museum prompted us to think about the role of art in making us simultaneously want to turn away in disgust but also captures our attention as discussed with our readings of Sontag and Augustine. Specifically, the piece by Jacque Callot, The Hangman’s Tree, both captivated our attention while also making our stomachs churn. The stark physical separation between the suspended bodies…
Thinking about the Augustine and Sontag reading comes the prominent theme of how humans are drawn to violence. This is not necessarily through committing acts of violence, but by witnessing it. Why is it so hard to tear your gaze away from an act of violence once it begins? Why is there this primal curiosity associated with watching it through the end even if the viewer may have an…
