Pre class 9/16

For tomorrow’s class, we were assigned the reading, “The Work of Art” by Walter Benjamin. The most interesting part of this reading for me, was how “Mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses toward art” (Benjamin, 29). With the introduction of film he explains, changed the whole way we used to see and talk about art. Benjamin says that “ The reactionary attitude toward a Picasso painting changes into the progressive reaction toward a Chaplin movie. The progressive reaction is characterized by the direct, intimate fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert” (29). Now instead of just having a reaction toward a piece of art without criticism, we will now see a piece of art and talk about it critically. Benjamin talks about how now we have reactions before we actually see a piece of art and then after we see it, have more interpretation of what we just saw. He says this happens mostly in film. Not until the 19^th century was when we started looking at art publicly and were not used for people to see and critique. Now, when we go see a piece of art, we have a reaction towards what we are about to see, and then after we see it we compare our original reactions to the ones we have after we see it. I am surprised when I first read this because I thought that people thought like this forever. The introduction of film and other technological advances has changed the way we think when we see a piece of art. This relates back to modernism with the idea of something happening in history to change society’s way of thinking throughout the world.

“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.”