worksheet p1.12 - the Slide Projector!

Photo 1!! ! ! Name _______________________________________
History of Photography !! ! Due Date ____________________________________
You earned __________ out of 20 possible points.
Worksheet #12
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
objectʼs unique existence in space and time coupled with its historical testimony and place within tradition.
How does Levineʼs work consider the “aura.” What argument does she make for itʼs 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 Levineʼs 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
Levineʼs photographs in the context of Ageeʼs statement, what meaning or understanding emerges
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Critics often get very angry over Sherrie Levineʼs 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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