Photo 1 Name _______________________________
History of Photography You earned __________ out of 20 points.
Worksheet #10
Postmodern Appropriation
 

Read the article, Command CV: A legend by default, view the website www.aftersherrielevine.com and answer the following questions.

 
Define the term "appropriation."
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Walter Benjamin, in his important essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, argued that photography, because of infinite reproducibility, eliminated the “aura” of an artwork – an object’s unique existence in space and time coupled with its historical testimony and place within tradition.  How does Sherrie Levine’s work consider the “aura.”  What argument does she make for it’s existence or demise?

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Why did Sherrie Levine chose to appropriate the works of Walker Evans, Edward Weston, Marcel Duchamp and Vincent Van Gogh?  What commonalities do these artists share?  What meanings do Sherrie Levine’s photographs obtain when the viewer realizes the motivations behind her appropriations?

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In your own words, what makes a work of art original?  Is originality, or authenticity an important or necessary component of art?

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In Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee made the following remark concerning the Walker Evans photographs that were part of the book:  “The photographs are not illustrative.  They, and the text, are coequal, mutually independent, and fully collaborative.”  When we consider the titles of Sherrie Levine’s photographs in the context of Agee’s statement, what meaning or understanding emerges?
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Critics often get very angry over Sherrie Levine’s work, one going as far as calling her a “parasite.”  Identify and analyze your own personal reactions to her work and the ideas behind it.
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Why is no author credited for writing this article or conducting the interview at the end?
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