http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/gfx/012_9-11_The%20Art%20of%20Delivering%20Justice_NSW.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR5r91ej1pw
Without knowing the title of the painting linked above, what do you think the message is the artist is trying to send? What is the purpose of the painting? Unless you have spoken to the artist specifically about this painting, it would be nearly impossible to know the reason behind each detail in the painting. This art also holds true to one of Benjamin’s arguments about the differences between movies and paintings. Benjamin claims that painters keep their distance from the desired object and cameramen force their way in to display their message. The artist clearly kept his distance while creating this painting. On the other hand, the preview for “We Were Soldiers” follows Benjamin’s opinion of the cameraman’s surgeon-like strategy. The cameraman almost seems like he could be in the way during some of the scenes. About halfway through the trailer, the camera is right in a horrified soldier’s face. The director most likely did this to show the intense mental stress the war has on everyone. The forceful nature also allows the viewer to get the feeling of actually being there. The viewer almost gets the feeling of running into the woods under heavy enemy fire, being caught in the raging fires set by the enemy and trying to listen for important tactical orders through the all of the explosions and screaming. The director’s intentions are very clear in this preview. He is trying to inform viewers of an awful time in history where young and innocent men were sent to fight for their country. By forcing his way into the action, he is trying to make us feel the pain and hardships our soldiers went through.
The painting, on the other hand, doesn’t have the ability to zoom in on the people to show us their facial expressions, the painting can’t play music to set the mood, and the people can’t talk and express how they feel. Since the characters can’t talk we can’t use the tone of their voices to set the mood of the painting even further. The clever name of the painting, “The Art of Delivering Justice,” is one of the major ways to try and send the audience the message. One thing that both movies and paintings have in common is the use of color. “Everything’s an Argument” reinforces the common knowledge that colors can be very descriptive. The painting is very colorful and the artists present in the courtroom give the art a very happy feel.
In Benjamin’s Mechanical Reproduction essay, he states that art is enjoyed by few, while film is enjoyed by everyone. This is simply because movies are more entertaining. It is also much easier to understand a message within a movie than it is to understand a message within a painting. Even though Benjamin seems to clearly favor art over film, he does believe that film revolutionizes the way we look at certain things. The horse gallop shown in class is just one example of the benefits of photography and film. Benjamin states, “by close-ups of the things around us, by focusing on hidden details of familiar objects, by exploring common-place milieus under the ingenious guidance of the camera, the film, on the one hand, extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our lives.” The ease of discovering the messages and themes of film make it a very effective medium. Discovering a message within a painting is much more difficult because of the lack of common methods of communication.
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I do not believe that film is more effective. It may seem that way with all the technology but that technology is influencing you to see it a certain way. you are unfortunately seeing it through someone else's point of view and not you own which in my opinion i do not like. I believe, along with Benjamin, that a traditional art is more of an effective medium and more of an art. And that society is sadly drifting away from the traditional art to photography and film.
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