The Work of Art in the Mechanical Age of Reproduction
Lawson, Shefchuk, & Wzorek
Art Reproduction
Important for many reasons, but principally to:● spread art to places/people that it couldn't
have reached in its single, original form● meet wants and demands of the masses'
desire for as much art as possible
Early Types of Mechanical Reproduction
● Stamping (iron molds): Ancient Greeks used this mainly for coins○ http://www.classicalcoins.com/page103.html
● Woodcut: image created through carving, engraving, or etching on wood for printing○ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgCYovlFRNY
Later Types of Mechanical Reproduction
● Lithography: direct process of tracing a design on a stone to print○ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHw5_1Hopsc
● Photography: finally freed hand of previous tasks in earlier reproduction types ○ Foreshadowed film
Authenticity
● = Essence of all that a piece of art has transmitted since its creation
● = Totally unique existence and history only an original piece can have
● Cannot be reproduced and is what art reproductions lack○ http://mba.yale.
edu/faculty/pdf/newmang_art_authenticity.pdf
Aura
● = "Unique phenomenon of distance" ● = Uniqueness and permanence an original
has ● Goes hand in hand with a piece's
authenticity, for they both reside only in originals ○ And both are lost in art reproduction
● Undeniably linked to tradition and art's ritual function
Ritual/Tradition
● Art's first purpose was for rituals/traditions, usually of the religious type ○ "Cult/Ritual Value"
● In this view, the existence of the ritualistic art matters more than its exhibition to people
● Cult value eventually lost steam when "exhibition value" grew
Exhibition Value
● Reproduction detaches art from domain of tradition/ritual
● Cult values shifted to exhibitionist ones as more people demanded to see art
● As authenticity, aura, and rituals became less important, these conflicting values reversed in prominence
● Value shift in art also led to a change in its intrinsic nature and how it was viewed by people○ http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/atheologies/1491/modern_media_and_the_%E2%80%
9Cexhibition_value%E2%80%9D_of_the_corpse
Relation to Chapter Two
● Presence of exhibition value is implied when referring to fully engaging audience and their emotional connection to a film for non ritualistic reasons○ Plays huge role in experience of form
● Perceived meanings, interpretations, and evaluations of art also play a pivotal role in experience of art that resides in the exhibition value
Photography & Film
● Through these mediums more than others, the exhibition value displaced cult value
● Films' societal immersion and significance ensures its effect
● Ch. 2: touches upon societal influence and interconnectedness among art and film in its explanations of convention and experience ○ All art is a product of culture, whether ritualistic or
exhibitionist
Film's Inclusion in "the Arts"
Film is introduced through a comparison between the invention of photography and the invention of film.
Can either be considered art?
By taking out the "cult" aspect through mechanical reproduction, Benjamin says we are left with both film and photography having political functions.
Film's Indescribable Nature
Many tried to attach characteristics of art to film: Compared to Hieroglyphics by Abel Gane
Described by S*Verin-Mars as an "incomporable means of expression".
Described by Iverfel as being "supernatural".
The Disappearance of Film's "Aura"
The Actor and his performance go through two filters before reaching the audience:
-The Camera-The Editing Processhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJcQgQHR78Q 6:30
The actor's performance is not directly received by the audience so the audience does not perceive the actor or character's "aura."
Film's Connection to the Audience
Film's lack of "aura" leads to the business of building up an actor's personality in the real world.
The actor becomes a commodity.
http://www.imdb.com/list/50XfQs9uH8U/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_star
Film's Connection to the Audience
Anyone that watches film can become an actor.Political connection:Acting becomes "common property" that can be attainable by all. http://www.listal.com/list/from-singer-to-actorhttp://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/tv-film-news/from-cliff-richard-to-meat-loaf-the-best-1299541
Film's Connection to the Audience
By experiencing film, members of the audience become experts.
Filmmakers are constantly trying to "trick" the "expert" audience through the use of special effects
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/31799
Analogy
Magician=PainterSurgeon=Cameraman● magician maintains a natural distance
between patient and self ○ a painter maintains in his work a distance from
reality● surgeon diminishes the distance between
himself and patient as he handles the organs ○ a cameraman penetrates deeply into the web of
reality
Cameraman
● a cameraman penetrates deeply into the web of reality○ work of a cameraman consists of multiple fragments
assembled under a new law○ the camera intervenes with the resources of lifting
and lowering, interruptions. . .○ with close-up, space expands; with slow motion,
movement is extended
Dadaism
"Dada is a state of mind... Dada is artistic free thinking... Dada gives itself to nothing... ." So is Dada defined by
André Breton. This is not to say that Dada is definable, for it was one of the primary goals of Dada to avoid the labeling
and legitimizing of the establishment." www-scf.usc.edu
● "They intended and achieved the relentless destruction of the aura of their creations which they branded as reproduction with the very means of production."
DADA ART
"The Fountain"
● Assured distraction by making works of art a center of scandal
● Dadaistic rule: outrage to the public
Dada Art
Shock and Distraction
● Dada art work is unique because of shock value○ disruption or distraction from the "usual"
● Dada art "hit the spectator like a bullet, it happened to him, thus acquiring tactile quality"
● This promoted demand for film which is distraction○ "based on the changes of place and focus which
periodically assail the spectator"
Film vs. Painting
● A painting invites a spectator to contemplation, to abandon himself to his associations
● In a film, as soon as your eye grasps a scene, it changes○ the process of association in view of images is
interrupted by constant change■ shock effect of a film
"I can no longer think what I want to think. My thoughts have been replaced by moving images." ~Duhamel
The Masses
● Critique is that the masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator○ concentrated spectator IS absorbed by work of art○ distracted masses ABSORBS a work of art
● Despite being distracted, one can still form habits while in the state of distraction
Habit of Expectation
● After reviewing the article and reflecting on chapter two, it can be inferred that one of the habits formed in the state of distraction is expectation○ as a viewer absorbs the changing images
(music/sound etc...), he/she develops expectations○ the film either meets, delays, or shatters
expectations○ the viewer then adjusts his/her expectations