¶ … Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Walter Benjamin attempts to describe how the advent of industrialization has changed the way art is produced, transmitted, and received, and the effect these changes have had on the notion of art itself. Benjamin's argument centers around the notion of a work's "aura," or "the unique appearance of a distance," meaning the unique, individual experience of a work in time and space that cannot be reproduced in the same way that the work itself can (Benjamin 2004: 795). In order to better understand Benjamin's notion of aura and the way photography, film, and other reproduced images contribute to its decay, one may consider an image of Benjamin himself as a case study in changes produced by the mechanical reproduction of art.
When Benjamin talks about "distance," he is referring to distance not only in terms of space, but also time, because the particular historical context and origin of a work of art prior to the age of mechanical reproduction contributes to its aura in the same way that its distance does, with the only difference being that the viewer perceives the temporal distance somewhat less directly than the physical distance. Because a work's aura is dependent on, and in some ways made up by "its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be," mechanical reproduction cannot help but diminish it, as reproduction simultaneously unmoors the image from its original time and space (Benjamin 2004: 793). This is actually how Benjamin introduces and formulates the concept of aura; namely, by identifying it as the thing that mechanical reproduction destroys or diminishes.
After initially describing the concept of...
Art Diminish in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction? Walter Benjamin believes that the aura of an original work of art diminishes in an age of mechanical reproduction because the work of art is decontextualized from its original context as a result of mass production. At first blush, Benjamin's argument seems very compelling. After all, few could argue that seeing a work of art in a majestic setting, like the Louvre,
One of the main facts mentioned is the meaning and an interpretation of the work of art is more dependent on the owners, who more influence the meaning. From here, the fact presented by Benjamin of influence of capitalism on art is being reasserted (Sturken, Douglas and Cartwright, 75). 2. Lawrence Levine's "William Shakespeare and the American People" Art is not reflected in the form of painting or films, but writers
Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," addresses changing views and its impact following photography and film's emergence in the previous century. The author addresses sense changes in mankind's overall way of life, how humans view and understand visual artworks differently now as compared to before, and its effect (which is yet to be identified). Further, he addresses the lost authentic aura, owing to artworks' mechanical reproduction. This aura
There are expressed their feelings through different work of art such as filming. Through films, they used actors and actresses to manipulate the story of the film. And thus through the facial expressions and their actions people watching it can get the whole picture of what the story was all about. One of the first to sense this transformation of the actor by the test performance was Pirandello (Benjamin
Similarly, the phases of the image evolves from art reflecting basic reality, through three progressive stages that culminate in art that has no relation to reality at all. The same happens with utopian and science fiction writing. The first stage requires no such writing, as the world is viewed as utopian in its current state. The second stage recognizes the world as imperfect, and compensates for this by means of
Art and Death: The Chinese Portraying death to children In the preschool age, educators seldom broach the topic of death. However, some picture books for kids directly address death and related issues. Their current approach is worth utilizing as reference. Book presentations follow the steps: comprehending death with preschoolers' internal experiences, slowly probing into what death means in the eyes of preschoolers, and expanding on the subject by seeking the continuance of
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