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An assignment commenting on Walter Benjamin's Artwork essay and the first chapter of Berger's Ways of Seeing—for Understanding Visual Culture coursework
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The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction
An assignment commenting on Walter Benjamin's Artwork essay and the first chapter of Berger's Ways of Seeing—for Understanding Visual Culture coursework
An assignment commenting on Walter Benjamin's Artwork essay and the first chapter of Berger's Ways of Seeing—for Understanding Visual Culture coursework
the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction
For the first part of the project, we were required to read and make notes on Walter Benjamins The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction, whilst reading we were required to bear the following questions in mind: How does he state his case for the removal of arts elite nature What do !ou make of his ideas of the "aura of the work #oes the improvement in the methods of reproduction, colour printing, digital imaging and television, strengthen or weaken his case #oes the failure of the $oviet e%periment alter the validit! or otherwise of his case For the second part of the project, we were required to stud! the first chapter in &ohn Bergers 'Ways of Seeing( )or alternativel!*additionall! watch the BB+ videos available on ,outube-. We were then required to answer the following questions: #o !ou find his case convincing #o !ou think that a work of art removed from its original site grows or diminishes in meaning #oes familiarit! breed contempt Has Benjamins "aura been removed b! the postcard How does he state his case for the removal of arts elite nature Benjamin in his essa! stated that, '/he technological reproducibilit! of the artwork changes the relation of the masses to art.( 0W. Benjamin, 1223, p.4567 and it is here that 8 presume that he is arguing for the democrati9ation of art as a result of mechanical reproduction:in that mass;produced art, freed from the limitations imposed b! cultic values and elite ownership, could be consumed b! the masses:and could be used to e%press 'oppositional politics in the face of oppressive regimes( 0<aughe!, 122=, p.>26. Benjamins thoughts on the potential 'politicisation of art( 0W. Benjamin, 1223, p.>167 were influenced b! his friendship with Bertolt Brecht, who wanted his pla!s to elicit reactions and thoughts, to 'foster intellectual detachment in audiences so that the! could make their own, informed political judgements( 0<aughe!, 122=, p.>26. ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg E*E2- Crior to the abilit! to mechanicall! reproduce art, an artwork had e%isted in a specific, singular place. 8rrespective of where the artwork was housed, two things remained the same:it was alwa!s the original authentic artwork that was e%perienced, and this e%perience was limited to a few people at an! single moment:it could not be e%perienced b! the masses simultaneousl!. Aechanical reproduction removed the elite nature of art because it removed the cultic value associated with art7 we no longer necessaril! view the original, and the original no longer e%ists in one place, therefore it apparentl! loses its aura, its here and now )sein Hier und &et9t-, that 'unique e%istence at its place where it happens to be( 0Aace!, 122E, p.116. /his e%traction, via the process of mechanical reproduction, collapses space and time, and allows for the democratisation of art:art is accessible to more than the cultural elite7 and opens art up for political uses. Dchoing sentiments e%pressed b! Berger 0Berger, EF=1a, p.EE6, &ennings points to the fact that art prior to mechanical reproduction was a festished, distance object owned b! the elite class7 and that this ownership reinforced 'the larger claims to political power of the class for whom such objects were meaningful: the ruling class( 0&ennings, 1223, p.EG6. Aechanical reproduction would change all this because ownership and enjo!ment of art would no longer be restricted to the elite, ruling class and therefore could no longer be used to substantiate their claims to power. 8n considering the apparent loss of aura associated with the mechanical reproduction of art, one has to take into account that with the creation of art created specificall! for mechanical reproduction, for e%ample photographs or films, there is no original in the same sense as a painting or a sculpture7 and there are no longer copies or forgeries, but rather multiples of the artwork: no one iteration of the product can stand as the original. +onsequentl! artwork without an original art cannot be degraded b! reproduction:each is as original as one of its copies. /his argument stands prett! strong e%cept for the practise b! artists such as &eff Wall who create their artworks in seriousl! restricted numbers :b! doing this the! manage to create an aura around the artwork:using e%hibition value rather than the cultic value that is associated with older, and often religious artworks. Benjamin made specific reference to films as art:and ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg 1*E2- the fact that the! can be viewed simultaneousl! b! the masses in different parts of the world. !hat do "ou make of his ideas of the #aura of the work $tandard interpretations of the disintegration of the "aura of artwork point specificall! to the fact that the aura of an artwork is destro!ed b! its mechanical reproduction. However, 8 tend to agree with Hansen 0Hansen, 1223, p.16 when she asserts that the 'narrowl! aesthetic understanding of aura rests on a reductive reading of Benjamin(, and this point of view tends to be echoed b! +ostello 0+ostello, 12E2, p.16, amongst others: 'For Benjamin, the fundamental issue is not that an "aura ma! be predicated of some objects 0paintings6 but not others 0photographs6, but that a fundamental categor! of e%perience, memor! and perception permeating human possibilities of encountering the world, other persons and works of art more generall! is in the process of fading awa!( and Benjamin 0H. Benjamin, 122G, pp.E>1IE>46: 'For Benjamin, the object of e%perience, be it the face or the work of art, is losing its abilit! to look backJ H decline in the capacit! to e%perience is precisel! the problem identified b! Benjamin as the consequence of the commodification of art coupled to a general estrangement and alienation from an e%istence marked b! authenticit!.( Furthermore, Benjamin address the concept of aura on a number of occasions in his writings, where he specificall! links the concept of aura to the return of the ga9e and an e%perience. 8n 'On Some Motifs in Baudelaire(, 0W. Benjamin, 122=, p.E336 he states: '/he person we look at, or who feels he is being looked at, looks at us in turn. /o perceive the aura of an object we look at means to invest it with the abilit! to look at us in return.( +onsequentl!, 8 would argue that linking the loss of aura directl! to mechanical reproduction, as in a cause*effect approach, is reductive in its understanding of the concept of aura, and its subsequent loss as a result of mechanical reproduction. Benjamin was commenting on the loss of a specific, aesthetic e%perience that one encountered when looking at an original artwork:the abilit! of the object to return the ga9e of the viewer:which was being destro!ed b! mechanical reproduction. 8f one considers that he held that earlier photographic images had 'an aura about them, a medium that lent fullness and securit! to their ga9e even as it penetrated that medium,( 0W. Benjamin, EFFF, p.GEG67 it seems ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg 4*E2- obvious that the loss of aura is something more than a simple loss caused b! the method of mechanical reproduction:even if this loss is manifested b! this means of reproduction. $oes the improvement in the methods of reproduction% colour printing% digital imaging and television% strengthen or weaken his case /his question is similar to the one which asks whether the postcard has destro!ed the aura of the original artwork7 and 8 would offer a similar answer that the reproduction of artwork has increased the aura of the original:that in seeing and becoming familiar with reproductions, one is more determined to see the original. Cel9er 0Cel9er, 122G, p.12=6 points to the rise of cultural tourism as a result of mechanical reproduction:that familiarit! with sites of artistic production has not diminished the aura, but resulted in "pilgrimages to the sites: a "been there, seen that attitude. $oes the failure of the &oviet e'periment alter the validit" or otherwise of his case Benjamins hope that mechanical reproduction would lead to a democratisation and politicisation of art was not realised despite the fact that earl! twentieth Kussian artists groups like the +onstructivists had activel! produced art in the service of the revolution, and art in the hands of the people. /he official art for of the $oviet ?nion under $talin was $ocialist Kealism:and despite the fact that it showed the common people in man! of the paintings, this was not art of the people, but art used as a propaganda tool to maintain order. $o "ou find his case convincing Bergers 'Wa!s of $eeing( was first broadcast in EF=1, four !ears after Benjamins artwork essa! was published in Dnglish7 and roughl! three !ears after the broadcasting of Lenneth +larks '+ivilisation( series:both broadcast b! the BB+. Hlthough man! aspects of Bergers argument remain valid toda!, it would understandabl! have had a greater impact in EF=1 coming so soon after the '+ivilisation( series because both the presenters, and their approach to art differed so drasticall!. +lark was "suited;and;booted, an elitist 'posh man in tweeds(0BB+, n.d.6. whilst Berger had long hair, an open;necked shirt and spoke with a slight lisp. +lark approached art criticism in a more traditional manner, drawing attention to the aesthetic qualities of the art works. Berger, sei9ing inspiration from Benjamins artwork essa! sought to free art from the approach ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg >*E2- which had cloaked art in terms and approaches which made it inaccessible and not understandable to the average man. Whilst +lark reinforces the concept of high culture, concentrating on aesthetics and grandeur, Berger adopted an ideological approach:relating the contents of the paintings to class struggle. Howells and Megreiros suggest that Berger adopted a deliberatel! polemic and confrontational approach in order to promote a reaction to the traditional appreciation of art 0Howells and Megreiros, 12E1, p.FG6:which is possibl! a similar approach to that adopted b! Brecht in his pla!s. Berger has been criticised for totall! eschewing the aesthetic appreciation of art in favour of his Aar%ist;influenced ideological approach, but possibl! such a direct approach was needed to open the door to further debate:to dem!stif! art. 8t is possibl! a little ironic that Berger, nearl! >2 !ears after Benjamins essa!, was able to take advantage of mechanical reproduction in a form that Benjamin could not have anticipated, to reach an audience of millions and change their relation to art immeasurabl!. $oes familiarit" (reed contempt Has )en*amins #aura (een removed (" the postcard Whilst Benjamin suggests in both the Little History of hotography and the Hrtwork essa!, that mechanical reproduction of an art object has a negative impact on the aura of the original :'/he peeling awa! of the objectNs shell, the destruction of the auraJhas grown to the point where even the singular, the unique, is divested of its uniqueness:b! means of its reproduction.( 0W. Benjamin, EFFF, p.GEF6 and 0W. Benjamin, 122=, p.11467 8 am inclined to argue the opposite:that mechanical reproduction:in the form of postcards, books and television broadcasts:has actuall! increased the aura of the original artwork, that 'the originals authorit! turns out to be magnified, rather than diminished, b! its mass diffusion through copies and simulacra,( 0+avallaro, 122E, p.1256. Being familiar with the reproduction, we have become obsessed with the idea of seeing the original, and make what can onl! be seen as pilgrimages to see the original as displa!ed in a museum or art galler!. Our behaviour in front of the original is respectful and restrained as we politel! view the artwork, and then move to allow others the same e%perience. ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg G*E2- Berger, in episode one of 'Wa!s of $eeing( 0Berger, EF=1b6, with a backing audio of religious choruses and visuals of queues of people waiting to worship a religious icon, points to how we view artwork and icons within the church, sa!ing that, '!"erything around the image is part of its meaning# its uni$ueness is part of the single place where it is% !"erything around# it confirms and consolidates its meaning.( #espite the fact that this visual is based within a church, the behaviour shown towards artworks within the modern da! galler! or museum can be seen to encompass the same reverential demeanour:b! placing the artwork in the galler!, its apparent worth has been increased. However, 8 suspect that if Berger were to read this, he would point towards the fact that the aura around the original artwork as housed in a galler! or museum is grounded in what the artwork has become: '&t is no longer what its image shows that strikes one as uni$ue' its first meaning is no longer to (e found in what it says# (ut in what it is.( 0Berger, EF=1a, p.146 8f 8 return to m! understanding of Benjamins aura being as the result of an aesthetic e%perience found when in front of that artwork:is it now as a result of the '(ogus religiosity( 0Berger, EF=1a, p.146 which informs m! e%perience of that artwork 8s it because the artwork speaks to me, or is it because 8 know that 8 am standing in front of the original artwork:and its associated uniqueness and market value /o be honest, 8m not sureP Kecentl!, 8 was disappointed when 8 saw Kichard Hamiltons ')ust what is it that makes today*s homes so different# so appealing+( )EFG5-:it seemed so small7 and the reproductions 8 had seen were of equal, if not better qualit!:so in this case, the value of the artwork la! in what it said to me: irrespective of whether 8 saw the original, authentic piece or reproduction: as opposed to what it was. But then, on the same visit to the /ate, 8 was able to the Aatisse ',ut-Outs(:and seeing the marks on the man of the artwork made them far more impressive than a reproduction ever had. Was this because of the aura of both the artist and the product in front of me Mo, it was because those pin; marks on the paper showed me the e%perience of the man, the constant changing in positioning as he worked through how he wanted the work to look: there was something of his presence in the art work. )i(liograph" Hdorno, /. W. 0122G6 The ,ulture &ndustry. Selected !ssays on Mass ,ulture. eBook. & A Bernstein 0ed.6. <ondon: Koutledge. Benjamin, H. 0ed.6 0122G6 Walter Ben/amin and 0rt. +ambridge, AH.: +ontinuum. ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg 5*E2- Benjamin, H. 0122G6 N/he #ecline of Hrt: BenjaminNs HuraN, in 0rt# Mimesis and the 0"ant-1arde. eBook. <ondon: Koutledge. pp. E43IE>F. 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Cel9er, K. 0122G6 N/echnical Keproduction and its $ignificanceN, in Aatthew Kample! 0ed.6 !Bploring 3isual ,ulture. >efinitions# ,oncepts# ,onteBts. Ddinburgh: Ddinburgh ?niversit! Cress. pp. EF=I1E4. ?@+: Aodule 1 B Croject Dight B the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction B @icki <oader )pg E2*E2-