Walter Benjamin - Work of Art

For tomorrow’s class we were instructed to read Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. I found this particular piece to be very interesting because my mom is a professional artist who’s work has been reproduced in galleries and homes in the U.S.

In his writing, Benjamin critically examines art, film and how common perceptions on both have changed as a result of technological reproducibility. Both paintings and artwork alike have history – that history is subject to all sort of interpretations, when we look at paintings they can inspire us, remind us of something, etc. Benjamin states that when an authentic piece of artwork is replicated, it loses its history and perceived meaning.  While movies can be remade, edited, or extended – paintings do not have that liberty. One of Benjamin’s quotes that stood out to me was “[Let us] compare the screen on which a film unfolds with the canvas of a painting. The painting invites the spectator to contemplation; before the spectator can abandon himself to his associations. Before the movie frame he cannot do so. No sooner has his eye grasped a scene than it is already changed.” I like this quote a lot because it can be directly applied towards human perception of art and media. Through technical reproduction our ‘natural view’ of the original picture or piece of art changes what our eyes can take in – changing the piece’s meaning and value drastically. Another point that Benjamin made dealt with the difference between stage actors and screen actors. While both positions are demanding, the aura the screen actor embodies cannot be replicated because its connected to the actor’s presence. While stage plays aren’t mechanically reproduced, the actors only get one chance (live) to win over an audience – while screen actors can virtually take as long as they want to get a particular scene ready. All in all, Benjamin’s essay on Mechanical Reproduction not only informed me on what can (and does) happen to art when it’s reproduced, but also subtle differences between different types of acting.