Walter Benjamin's Age of Mechanical Reproduction
My favorite point that Benjamin makes is that the depiction of art is not enough to make it art. He states that people, "not supply the production apparatus without, within the limits of the possible, changing that apparatus in the direction of socialism." In other words, as much as possible, an artist should not display his or her work to the world unless it creates some form of social interactions. He believes that the message that a piece of artwork conveys and the actions that result from it are far more important than the piece itself. Adding meaning to art is what makes the piece important to viewers. Art can be considered to be essentially anything that triggers an emotional response from a viewer. "What we must demand from the photographer is the ability to put such a caption beneath his picture as will rescue it from the ravages of modishness and confer upon it a revolutionary use value," Benjamin writes.
Benjamin connects this idea to the vast capabilities that come with weaving of Art and Technology. By utilizing technology to mass produce and publicize art, the message behind the art is further communicated with the world. This new ability does need to be kept in check, however, so as not to lose sight of the artwork itself. Benjamin mentions, "By the absolute emphasis on its exhibition value as opposed to an ahistorical cult value, the work of art becomes a creations with entirely new functions, among which the one we are conscious of, the artistic function, later may be recognized as incidental." Politics, while they play an important role in the study of art, should not consume the original intent of the artist.
No comments:
Post a Comment