4 Quotes & Image (Liz)

1." To collect photographs is to collect the world"- Susan Sontag 

Such a lovely quote, illustrating the feelings & memories that photographs provide long after they are taken, or even when never present in the place they are taken. 

2. Images which idealize ( like most fashion and animal photography) are no less aggressive than work which makes virtue of plainness ( like class pictures still life of the bleaker sort and mug shots).

This quote reminds me that images do so much than capture a moment, they provide evidence, carry influence, and can influence desires. 

3."The spectator buyer is meant to envy herself as she will become if she buys the product. She is meant to imagine herself transformed by the product. She is meant to imagine herself transformed by the product into an object of envy for others an envy which will justify her loving herself, one could put this another way: The publicity image steals her love of herself as she is, and offers is back to her for the price of the product" -John Berger 

This quote made me reflect on the way advertising affect the human psyche. John Berger's take is really deep, and uncomfortably accurate in the way desiring a product can make one feel. 

4. " Publicity remains credible because the truthfulness of publicity is judged, not by the real fulfillment of its promises, but by the relevance of its fantasies to those of the spectator buyer.  

This quote serves as a reminder of the virtue of publicity, how it is perceived is many times more important than the tangible value it carries. 

I chose this image because it helps illustrate the connections between, fine art painting, photography, publicity and advertising. The ad here draws inspiration from previous art forms to provide an advertisement to not only get peoples attention, but to make them desire the product being photographed. I also chose it because this is some what of an older advertisement  and yet resonates with many of the ads seen today. Nudity and sexualization of the human body draws people's attention, incites criticism both good and bad. This brings the publicity to the forefront of the viewers mind and lingers to hopefully accomplish its goal of consumerism.