12. Art and Society: A Model

What four "coordinates" involving works of art for Abrams?

work, artist, universe/nature, audience

How does Abrams define each of these coordinates?

Work- the product
Artist- who creates the product
Universe- the subject of the work
Audience- who the product is targetted to

Abrams says most theories concetrate on only one coordinate. why is this so?

The orientation is toward mostly work. This is because everything somehow revolves and relates back to the work. The universe explains what the work is about, the audience views and interprets the work and the artist creates the work. The audience has next to no dealing with the artist directly, the universe isn't shown to the audience without the work, the audience doesn't see anything without the work's presentation. The work is the center.

What changes does the Berger model make to the Abrams model?

The Berger model adds in a medium and America. Medium is any way the work is presented, tv, radio, magzines, etc. America is the society where the message is created and disseminated. Also, all elements are labled with an A word, except Medium in an effort to help simplify things and make it easier to remember.

What did McLuhan mean when he said "the medium is the message"?

He means the way the message is conveyed can be more important than the message itself. The medium plays an important role in the way the artist creates and communicates their message.