Seminar 1: Context with 9/11

In yesterday's CoP seminar we were discussing how the context of an animaion is really important, and how we have to consider many different things when we are looking at a piece of work. For instance, the target audience, what it was used for and whether it was fit for this purpose, where and when it was produced, and what was happening at the time.

For an example to get us thinking about how important context is we were shown two images:

We started with the image on the left. It is the special edition copy of Time Magazine that featured the 9/11 terrorist attack on the world trade centre in 2001. We weren't given any context, but we decided as a class that the magazine was just broadcasting information on the attacks, or paying respect to those who had lost their lives, considering the way the photograph was presented, and that we knew it was a magazine.
We were then shown the second image, and there was a bit of an uproar, both at how offensive we found the photo, as well as how poorly the album cover was put together. After we had pointed out everything that was wrong with the cover, we then discovered that it was designed in July before the 9/11 attacks had even occured, and that they later retracted it and released the album with an alternate cover.

This example really made me realise that context is very important, and even the way you are presented with information can make you think differently about a piece of work. Had we had been shown the album cover first, we might not have found it as offensive as we wouldn't have been discussing our experiences of the 9/11 attacks and how we thought the attacks impacted the world. Back in July of 2001, if we would have looked at this album cover we would have thought nothing of it, why would we? Yes, we might have been appauled by the poorly edited cover, but we wouldn't have found it offensive as there was no reason at the time to get offended.

So in future, before I judge a book by it's cover, or more accurately in this case an album (I'll let myself out), I should try to think about the intended purpose or context of the work, at the time it was released or produced.