Essay 1 Exercise 1 PDF

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Mandatory weekly assignment #1 for essay 1...

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The Reality of Fantasy In his essay “A Too Perfect Picture,” Teju Cole explores the world of constructed reality that is superficially perfect art, and brings full attention to the distinction of what good art is versus what good art should be. Cole begins his stance by arguing that photographer Steve McCurry’s method of using “old ideas of what photographs of Indians should look like” (Cole) to paint India as this country where time has stopped “is not simply to present an alternative truth: It is to indulge in fantasy.” (Cole) Like a puzzle that cannot be complete if it’s missing even one piece, a photograph depicts a completely different, almost deceptive story when it “settles on a notion of authenticity that edits out the present day.” (Cole) This idea of carefully positioning and sculpting art into something “staged or shot to look as if it were” (Cole) is not only unrealistic, but more importantly, it is morally unjust. In a world as modern as ours, our thoughts and ideas can easily be swayed by the media we consume, which in turn, can take a toll on our actions. By only showing what you want others to see, it compels others to view things a certain way, which can lead to the formation of false notions that always have the potential of acting out in negative ways. To further berate contrived art, Cole adds that often times, by disconnecting from reality, the art itself loses its purpose as an outlet of beauty and suddenly becomes this channel of financial benefits. So is the “too perfect picture” we see, actually perfect in essence? To this, Cole answers with the following: without a complex sense of realism, it’s very difficult to create good art. He expresses that good art is one that captures moments just the way they are – in their most raw, authentic, and exquisite forms. By doing so, not only do these events “outlive the moment that occasion them,” (Cole) but we, the creators, become the “more” he explicitly says we are.

WORKS CITED: Cole, Teju. “A Too-Perfect Picture.” The New York Times Magazine. The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2016. Web....