Arin6903(walterbenjamin)
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Transcript of Arin6903(walterbenjamin)
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction (1935)Walter Benjamin
ARIN6903César Albarrán Torres
• Works of art have always been reproducible (replicas for training, diffusing work and monetary gain), but mechanical reproduction is new.
• Lithography: new stage as it enabled graphic art to illustrate everyday life.
• Reproduction acquires place of its own in artistic process. Warhol, Posadas and others understood this.
The many faces of Monalisa
What a reproduction lacks…
• Presence in time and space (how do we define these in the 21st century)?
• History of ownership and physical condition. • Authenticity: “The whole sphere of
authenticity is outside technical– and of course, not only technical.” (Benjamin, 1935: 214)
• The quality of the presence and the historical testimony of a work of art is depreciated.
Where does digital reproduction fit?• “Process reproduction is more independent
of the original than manual reproduction.” (Ibidem)
• “[…] technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself.” (Ibidem)
Did Michelangelo intend this?
Aura
• “[…] that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.” (Benjamin, 1935: 215)
• Aura: “uniqueness of a work of art”, “inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition”.
• A work of art is never separated from its “ritual function”.
Aura: a psychotic example
Resonance in the digital age
• “It is easier to exhibit a portrait bust that can be sent here and there than to exhibit a statue of a divinity that has its fixed place in the interior of a temple.” (219)
• “In photography, exhibition value begins to displace cult value all along the line.”(Ibidem)
• Film actor: “His creation is by no means all of a piece, it is composed of many different performances.” (Ibidem)
Resonance in the digital age
• “Thus, the distinction between author and public is about to lose its basic character […] the reader gains access to authorship.” (Benjamin, 1935)
• Produsage (2008): “Users who participate in […] processes of massively parallelized and decentralized creativity and innovation in myriads of enthusiast communities do no longer produce content, ideas, and knowledge in a way that resembles traditional, industrial modes of production” (Bruns, 2008) For extended, updated information visit: www.produsage.org
Massive simultaneous reception• “Simultaneous collective experience”
Benjamin identified in film, multiplied by X factor in the Internet.
• www.fat-pie.com Flash animations by David Firth, reproduction part of aura.
Original?• What is the original work of art in
digital creations? Does the aura still exist?