NCLC 245: Visual Culture & Society

In Practices of Looking, they talk about how the power is typically awarded to the person looking rather than the person being looked at. In this picture, people have used photoshop to make this woman's stomach look the way they think it should look rather than the way it actually looks. This is a prime example of how the power is in the hands of the person looking than the one being looked at. Photoshop is constantly used to change the view of someone to make it better fit for one persons eyes. this has in turn distorted the view everyone else should have

An interesting point that I grasped from the reading was about the evolution of the photograph and how this has lead to surveillance. Within society although we do not know for certain if we are being watched, the threat of being watched is enough to influence our decisions. For instance, with the implementation of surveillance at stoplights, gas stations, clothing stores, and many other places doing something unlawful or immoral is usually not carried out, but if something is carried out it is in a very sly manner. When we stretch this philosophy of the panopticon penitentiary we realize that in current day society we live our lives under anticipation of being watched. Whether it is simply tripping over a curb walking down the street, or doing something much more embarrassing in front of a large audience, we are always under the threat and impact of being analyzed through surveillance. Recently the patriot act was a huge topic within the media as this directly had to do with surveillance. Although we do not often recognize it, we live our lives in current society very similar to those within the panopticon penitentiary as we anticipate always being under investigation. 

In Practices of Learning, Berger discusses Laura Mulvey's essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Mulvey's theorizes that the "male gaze" can be broken down in three ways: 1. How men look at women, 2. How women look at themselves, and 3. How women look at other women. Mulvey's theory aligns with current advertisement and standard celebrity photos. This photo of Jessica Alba is deconstructed so as to illustrate how the combination of camera manipulation, wardrobe, and the model/subject's overall appearance attain the male gaze. When you look at the photo as is (without the explanations and arrows), all you see is a seductive, well-known actress. Decontextualize the picture and apply Mulvey's theory and Berger's point of gender and "the gaze" is proven. 

This comic is intended to criticize people who are dedicated to buying Apple products and how Apple is constantly trying to come out with a newer and better electronic to keep people buying and this is a great example of consumer  culture. Having the newest and best of anything in consumer culture is, in a way, a status symbol. We strive to have the newest and the best and show off what we have to our friends. It gives us that fleeting feeling of importance and popularity while what we have is still relevant. Even worse, at times having something that is old is a point of making fun of a person especially when talking about clothing or jewelry. 

While this is an art restoration that went wrong, It reminds me of the idea behind art restoration and over-saturation. This photo has circulated the internet for quite some time and most of the time you only see the failed restoration and not the initial project. At first, when I saw the restoration I thought that someone was making fun of art and it was not until I had seen the restoration fail a few times and I looked up what the original looked like. I think this says a lot about internet and visual culture where we lose context on not only the art we see but everything else where we only get the popular of "viral" side of an image but not the original or intended point of view.

This is a photo from the Science Museum in Richmond. This shows the pendulum in the grand hall. As the earth spins the pendulum swings slightly to the left and knocks down pegs on the edges. I have always enjoyed this exhibit because it really does a great job of representing the feel of the museum. It gives a very larger than life feel as the pendulum string hangs from the under dome. The entire museum is centered around interactive and fun science while maintaining a professional and clean feel. I remember as a kid watching this pendulum for a long time with friends waiting for it to knock down the pegs .

When you consider how tattoos used to be and how they are now, a lot has changed. It used to be the rebellious form of art used by bikers, punks and prisoners. However as the popularity in tattoos grew in the musician and actor crowd, suddenly people were exposed to another way to have body art. TV showed the world that maybe tattoos were cool and young people wanted to follow trends and imitate their famous celebrities. It also became more unique in comparison to the traditional look. Tattoos are basically art on the body and some people have creative minds. I have heard of black light tattoos and from the pictures, they look really cool. They only show up during certain situations but they glow and bring the image to life. Granted I have no interest in getting a tattoo myself but from a creative standpoint, I can see the appeal.

I think that this image captures how tattoos have become much more of a mainstream form of art and less of an underground, personal only form.  This image describes how tattoos are now often put in much more visual areas, they are meant to be seen and shown off.  However in years past they have been somewhat of a stigma, often considered to be for people who are rebellious or "punks".