Lesson 11: Aura and the Poor Image
Art Appreciation · Unit 4 · Lesson 11 of 15 · ← L10 | L12 →
At a glance
| Session codes | U4·L8–U4·L11 |
| Days | 4 |
| Dates | Mon 2026-12-07 to Thu 2026-12-10 |
| Template | MAKE |
| Deliverable | CS5 poor-image lab |
| Feeds | A4 |
| Homework | Benjamin, the aura passages only, 30 min, set day 1, due day 2 |
Goal
You start with ukiyo-e — a print is already many — so that Benjamin reads as a description of something you have seen rather than as abstract theory. You then move to Steyerl, the writer you will draw on most directly. The lab on day four is your practice for A4, and the one session all term where you are asked to make something worse on purpose.
How it runs
- Day 1 · Mon 7 Dec ·
U4·L8— ukiyo-e: a print is many, not one; the market that made them. Benjamin set for homework. - Day 2 · Tue 8 Dec ·
U4·L9— aura, defined precisely enough to argue with Benjamin about it — then to argue with it. - Day 3 · Wed 9 Dec ·
U4·L10— Steyerl, the poor image: defend the low-resolution image as a thing with its own value; what circulation gives. - Day 4 · Thu 10 Dec ·
U4·L11— the poor-image lab: degrade, compress, re-photograph, screenshot the screenshot; then fifteen minutes writing exactly what changed. CS5 collected.
Assessment
- CS5 — poor-image lab write-up, collected on day 4 (Thu 2026-12-10): describe exactly what changed, not just that it got worse.
These dates fall in December 2026 and may shift when the school publishes its calendar for that period; the exact CS5 collection day will be confirmed in class.