The Photographic Activity of Postmodernism

Douglas Crimp begins by talking about the experience of a photograph or piece of art as being more important than just seeing it in a picture or magazine. The 'copy of a copy' does not give any aura of the work, but rather, it makes you want to see the actual piece, which in turn makes you want to see what was being painted/photographed which would 'ruin the art'. I agree with his idea of experiencing a photograph or painting to fully capture it's detail, content, and beauty; many people take dangerous, expensive trips to the Pyramids to stand at the base in person. But I disagree with his take that the aura is completely lost with copies of art. Most of the art and architecture that I am familiar with has come from a representation of the building, painting, or photograph, and yet I still have an appreciation for those great works. I am no less impressed with the phenomenal amount of work and patience they have taken. I believe that the visualization of a copy of a copy and even a copy of a copy of a copy can still draw memorable experiences to be valued. While I am sure that I would never forget a visit to the Pantheon, I do not disregard its beauty and meaning because what I have seen is a 'stolen image' of it. Crimp then goes into the definition of presence and kind of makes up his own definition halfway between 'being there' and 'not being there' that I can understand, after the bit about experiencing a photograph. Mentally being there, plugged into a piece of art, exploring its corners and colors, examining it, understanding it, relating to it, trying to read it and just thinking is obviously a presence that exceeds 'just being there'. Laurie Anderson's presence as a performer was the example that clearly spelled his argument for me. His insight into the idea of how we experience art is great, in that it is an aspect of photography not normally discussed. Everyone wants to talk about what the artist/photographer was trying to do with their composition or their lighting and whatnot but how the viewer is going to feel and what they are doing and where they are when they see a great piece of art is a detail that was interesting to think about. As an architecture major, I will probably take this aspect into consideration in my future works. Needless to say, I enjoyed Crimp's take on the idea of a copy of a copy, a stolen image, and the aura a piece of art illuminates while experiencing it.

Question: What is Cindy Sherman's fascination with breasts?