The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin has in many ways throughout his work taken a Marxist fashion. Benjamin’s views of the transformation of art are that it has a significant effect of the change in economic structure. When briefly taking a look how technology has changed society, many would say that it had made our lives exceptionally easier. This being said, it has also come with a profound cost. Walter Benjamin in his essay “The Work of Art in Mechanical Reproduction” discusses photography’s impact on our cultural perceptions of art. He argues that photography lacks essential characteristics of more established forms of creative visual representation which is otherwise known as aura. With this there is a substantial shift for Benjamin between what is art in…

Anntia Olivacce COM 3060 November 22, 2016 Art and Mechanical Reproduction in the Age of Instagram Social media has changed the way people communicate, discover and spend their leisure time. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, were originally developed as communicative platforms where people could network and keep in touch with loved ones. However, with the advent of Instagram and the popularization of memes, users are now able to exchange thoughts and ideas with the usage of minimal…

technology. Benjamin was influences by and is associated with the work of Karl Marx, Theodor Adorno, and Bertolt Brecht. Moreover, one of Benjamin’s most influential writing is titled, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936). The primary argument made by Benjamin in The Work of Art essay is the decay of an “aura” (authenticity) of art through reproduction. Specifically, Benjamin argues against art in the form of film and photography in order to preserve traditional…

‘The spectacle is thus a specialized activity which speaks for all the others. It is the diplomatic representation of hierarchic society to itself, where all other expression is banned”. Spectacle is a performance or display which one could understand of a way of seeing a things or how things works through images. It is hardly for us to separate the different between spectacles and ideals. “The spectacle cannot be understood as an abuse of the world of vision, as a product of the…

essay I will be using Walter Benjamin essay on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction to discuss ‘uniqueness’ and provide a visual example to explain the concept. Benjamin (1936:790) explains that we live in a world, where traditional viewing of ‘film and television’ is being replaced by the advancement of technologies and how the user/viewer has multiple formats and options for viewing movies and television shows, such as computers, DVDs and video cassette tapes. From one’s…

philosopher as well as cultural critic, argued that art, in an age of excessive mechanical production and reproduction would be based and revolve around politics and current events. Benjamin analyzed through his essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” the shifting focus of films and art from the classical traditional world, to the modern, industrial age. Benjamin believed that the world was transitioning from a time where “unique” was being overthrown by “reproduction.”…

As human existence matures through time and technology advances, humans have lost connection to nature. In Henry David Thoreau’s “Where I lived, and What I Lived for,” he explains his deliberate attempt to truly experience life by creating an authentic connecting with nature. Thoreau gambles his successful, easy life and bets on a world where he could experience the deep connection of nature through first hand experiences. Thoreau describes his journey of finding peace and fulfillment in a…

Kamila Kilian KIL15457275 MA Fashion Media Practice and Criticism Year 2 Historically, „fashion seemed „unworthy” of entering the museum" (Steele, V., 2008, p. 9), therefore fashion exhibition 's curators have faced many challenges throughout their work process - funding, educational values, sources of entertainment. All of these factors have a huge impact on the final result as well as the reviews of the exhibitions, and they may challenge their design and content. In her article Rocamora…

Exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Juxtapoz x Superflat was a show co-curated by Murakami, whose illustrations are often shown in gallery spaces, though he too retains a strong entrepreneurial sense. Directly drawn from traditionally flat Japanese imagery, Murakami’s superflat aesthetic appeals directly to otaku and kawaii culture, otaku as a fan-based subculture and kawaii as a culture of cuteness (Laurence). He views these cultures as a specific response to the trauma of Japanese people,…

Taking a stylistic approach breeching on a film within a film, The Truman Show explores human life from the perspective of life as art and entertainment. The Truman Show revolves around a man, Truman Burbank, whose life is broadcast worldwide twenty-four hours a day. He has been the star of his own show since he was born but has absolutely no idea that his life is staged and televised. Truman comes to the realization that his life is a lie and leaves his false reality to join the real world…