This article fascinated me in the way in which my mindset was changed entirely while reading. Initially I supported the artist in allowing him to create his own rendering of the photograph. A stance I'm sure most people (other than lawyers maybe) would naturally take. Garnett's respectful treatment of the situation solidified my opinion even more. As the concept of 'owning' art becomes more and more developed the trend towards freedom seems to be natural. Technologies allow for copies of music, video, art, ideas, almost anything, to be transferred for free. Of course, those creating these things almost always need to eat and pay rent, and as they would like to be able to concentrate on their particular expertise, the ideal world is one that pays them to do just that. The flip side is that in order for many good artwork to even exist, the artist does need to be able to be full time. No where is this more of an issue than in the film world. If billions weren't spent on consuming movies, the only way we would have any films would be in extremely small circuits, void of any of the benefits expensive technologies and great actors.
After reading the photographer's section of that article I was fascinated at the way in which my perspective entirely changed. To have recontextualized this man's struggle, albeit innocently, had the effect of almost mocking the things that he stood for. I think the ultimate lesson is to realize that there will always be consequences for taking things and placing them in new contexts. More often than not it will not take on as much importance as 'Molotov Man', but the fact remains that everything changes for any piece of artwork when it's context is changed. The photographer says it much better in a quote that I believe sums up the article and my thoughts afterwards.
"Technology allows us to do many things, but that does not mean we must do them. Indeed, it seems to me that if history is working against context, then we, must, as artists, work all the harder to reclaim that context."
Two other little snip-bits I thought too good to ignore:
"The process of framing an object in a lens was often enough to create the change they sought."
"...hidden details of familiar objects..."
