Week 7: Reading response to “On the Rights of Molotov Man” by Joy Garnett and Susan Meiselas – Allie Dunnaville

After reading this article I feel that I mostly agree with Susan’s argument. I think the biggest lesson I learned after reading the piece is that it’s important to understand the context of an image (or any piece of art) before rendering it or adjusting it. Users should take steps in understanding the meaning, purpose, and context of a piece of art before adjusting it. This is for the sake of the original artist and also the people or objects involved in the art. I think when Joy was sued by Susan she believed Susan only cared about receiving credit for the photograph she took, when in reality I felt that the most important issue for Susan suing Joy was that the meaning of the photograph was lost in Joy’s rendering of it. One thing readers should take away from reading this article is the importance of researching the history and context of a piece of art before rendering it to prevent complete decontextualization of the original artists intentions for the piece.

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