Landscape reading questions

What are some of these assumptions, and why does he find them
questionable?
Some assumptions are that landscape is not an art form, yet a medium. This is questionable to him because landscape is a subject, and a meeting ground for human stimulation. Landscape is not a medium, it is a still representation of space. Also, that landscape is pure, which is not entirely true, as times change, physical attributes of landscapes change from man, and states that these claims are only true in a literal, ironic manner.
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2.What does Mitchell mean in his claim that “landscape is
best understood as a medium of cultural expression, not a genre of
painting or fine art”? He is speaking closely to English landscape tradition and relating land to the people amongst it. Landscape is not only expressive culturally yet naturally and physically expressive as well. However he means to say that landscapes exist already in the world and people do live or do not live amongst it. A landscape can be painted and when it is, only then does it contain “art”.




3.What does the genre of
landscape have to do with imperialism and what are some of the “dark
sides” of landscape?
“ At a minimum we need to explore the possibility that the representation of landscape is not only a matter of internal politics and national or class ideology but also an international, global phenomenon, intimately bound up with the discourses of imperialism.
I believe he is referring to the comparison of landscapes and how certain landscapes have greater effects, in turn, making lesser landscapes seem less grand.