"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" is some interesting reading, although a tad challenging to understand. It speaks of how mechanical reproduction affects art and really ushered in a new experience in humanity. The 'aura of art' is lost through its reproduction. But the aura of art is also lost in time. As I understand it, a work of art is only total in its physical production, in the space and time it was created, because the context is still whole in that time. As time goes by the true value of the art can change, or as it is mass-reproduced the true value decays.
I like how Benjamin talked about ancient statues erected for ritual purposes, but as time went by and the ideologies and beliefs of the peoples changes its would lose its ritual value and become transformed into exhibition value. I also like how Benjamin speaks of, "The cult of remembrance of loved ones, absent or dead, offers a last refuge for the cult value of the picture" (41). Art itself reproduces an idea, image, person, or place, which can take on such enormous cult value, along with its exhibition value.
I also liked how he talked about audiences viewing a film, "With regard to the screen, the critical and the receptive attitudes of the public coincide. The decisive reason for this is that individual reactions are predetermined by the mass audience response[...]"(45). This is just such a cool concept, and how he says that, "Painting simply is in no position to present an object for simultaneous collective experience[...]"(45).
There are some cool concepts and I can't wait to put them together to get as better understanding in class tomorrow.
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