Modern Vision
In ‘The work of art in the age of Mechanical Production’, Walter Benjamin voices his opinions on individuality and the affects of mechanical reproduction on art. Up until the invention of the camera, value of art was linked to it’s uniqueness and the ‘magic’ surrounding the piece, but nowadays what gives art it’s value does not seem to be so clear. The destruction, or at least attenuation of this ‘aura’ due to the rise in mechanical production, signals a transition from appreciating art for its unobtainable nature and almost divine, traditional properties often linked to religion, to the new and evolving materialistic desire of the contemporary masses to bring things closer, obtain and hold at a very close range.
Benjamin associates photography with this decline of an ‘aura’ or authenticity of art. Photography has no original. it’s reproducible nature, due to the negative, means that an image is easily accessible, there is no difference between the first developed photograph and the latter developed. Photography meant that for the first time, the middle and lower classes could appreciate and own art works and feel a sense of social standing.
Today, value does not seem to be as closely related to ‘aura’ as it used to be. However, I believe there is still demand for the authentic. The unique existence of an object has been substituted for a plurality of copies, but the role of the authentic still exists. Aura can be compared to nature, for example the dappled shadow of a tree perceived in a unique moment. A photograph can be taken of this moment, but without the feeling of presence, without actually being there, the aura does not exist in the ‘soulless’ image. People do realise this, if this realisation and desire for the original was not present in today’s society, original pieces of art would not be sold. Possession of rare or original objects will always be associated with success and wealth. Interaction with these originals brings about a strong sense of excitement, a feeling which is not experienced in such a way through the viewing of a copy.
