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¶ … 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, in and of itself a work of art provides an entire experience that simply cannot be captured in a reproduction tea-towel. However, what Benjamin's argument ignores is that people have rarely, if ever, been able to appreciate the context of an original work of art, anyway. Museums do not provide the context that the artist had when creating the artwork. Artists do not work in museums or art galleries. They work in locations, in studios, on the street. Furthermore, artists are very influenced by society and culture, in a way that cannot really be understood by people outside of that culture. Finally, artists bring their own personal experiences when they create works of art. Therefore, to assume that most pieces of art can be understood in the context intended by the artist seems...
However, looking at three examples of art, it becomes clear that context can be important, and that, at least for me, the mass reproduction of certain artwork has done nothing to reduce my desire to see the original.
The first artwork I would considered when approaching this question is da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Perhaps the only work of art famous because the emotion of the subject is impossible to discern, the Mona Lisa is also one of the most reproduced artworks. However, the fact that it is mass produced leads to curiosity. If I had only heard about a painting with an enigmatic smile and a face without eyebrows, I would hardly consider a trip to see it. However, seeing the painting in its reproductions, and realizing there was something to the notion that the painting is enigmatic is what made me want to make the trip to the Louvre to see the painting. Only in the original can one capture the feeling of the painting's eyes following one around the room (See generally, da Vinci, 1509).
Another painting that has been reproduced is Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Van…
References
da Vinci, L., 1509. Mona Lisa. [Painting] (Louvre, Paris).
Michelangelo, 1508-1512. Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. [Painting] (Sistine Chapel, Vatican
City).
Van Gogh, V., 1889. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. [Painting] (Courtauld Institute Galleries,
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
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