When I first saw the title of this Monday's class reading, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," I was intrigued by the word reproduction. As I began reading, the sentence that struck me the most in regards to reproduction was:
"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be."
This made me stop and think. Today, living in this word of mass consumption and mechanical reproduction, I never really thought twice about the way things are taken out of history and remade into something to resemble authenticity. It seems new to me, but as the reading points out, "The whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical - and of course, not only technical - reproducibility. People are just so accustomed to seeing works of art mass produced on virtually everything - calendars, shirts, notepads, etc. I think that now that art has become available to everyone (upper, middle, and lower classes), Benjamin felt that art was stripped of its authority and aura.
I think seeing the Mona Lisa on T-shirts, for example, agrees with what Benjamin is saying:
However, I feel that people today can see the value and aura in an original piece of artwork. The worth between the real Mona Lisa painting and one of these shirts is obvious.
I also found it interesting how Benjamin explained film and how the changing mediums in media affect us: "...the film on the one hand, extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our lives; on the other hand, it manages to assure us of an immense and unexpected field of action."
He also states, "The spectator's process of association in view of these images is indeed interrupted by their constant, sudden change."
Films can take us to places we can't see and allows us to see people we have never met; to explore aspects of life, but from a certain angle, with lighting, cuts, and the cameraman controlling how these new things make us feel and think. We have no control over the film or what is happening to these fictional actors acting out scenes without real emotion. It is different from stage performances. The audience is not seeing a film in real time. We watch with pleasure, and rarely with a critical eye.
Benjamin saw the changes in the media and how new technologies brought both destruction and light to the way the mass audiences view and react to certain things presented right in front of them and all around them in the world. Especially in today's world, new technological advancements have changed the way people see media and the world around them.
I saw this youtube video a while back and thought it was interesting to what we have read from Benjamin. The iPad, a new technology, is combined here with art and animation. To me this is just another example of how the world is advancing:
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