SIMPLIFIED: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Pt. 1)

This lecture looks at Walter Benjamin‘a seminal book, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. It is a difficult work to unpack but important to the study of culture and technology today.

Benjamin's 1935 essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," significantly influenced art theory and cultural studies by critically analyzing how technology transformed art. Benjamin introduced the concept of "aura," arguing that mechanical reproduction methods like photography and film diminished the unique presence and authenticity of a work of art. He contended that these technologies democratized art through increased accessibility, yet they fundamentally changed how viewers interacted with and perceived art.

Benjamin also delved into the political implications of mechanically reproduced art, highlighting its potential for both progressive and regressive political uses, including in fascist propaganda. His essay profoundly impacted art theory, philosophy, and cultural criticism, establishing itself as a seminal work in understanding the interplay between art, technology, and society.

[universityquickcourse]

References

Sure, I'll rearrange the citations in alphabetical order without bullet points:

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Eiland, Howard, and Michael W. Jennings. *Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life*. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013.

Feigel, Lara. *Literature, Cinema, and Politics 1930–1945: Reading Between the Frames*. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010.

Goebel, Rolf. “Introduction: Benjamin’s Actuality.” In *A Companion to the Works of Walter Benjamin*, edited by Rolf Goebel, 1–22. London: Camden House, 2009.

Greenberg, Udi E. “The Politics of the Walter Benjamin Industry.” *Theory, Culture & Society* 25, no. 3 (2008): 53–68.

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Marinetti, Tommaso. “Futurist Manifesto.” In *Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics*, edited by Herschel B. Chipp, 285–287. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1996.

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McRobbie, Angela. “The Passagenwerk and the Place of Walter Benjamin in Cultural Studies.” In *The Cultural Studies Reader*, edited by Simon During, 77–96. London: Routledge, 1999.

Meissner, Miriam. *Narrating the Global Financial Crisis: Urban Imaginaries and the Politics of Myth*. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.

Nelson, Cary. “Always Already Cultural Studies.” In *English Studies/Cultural Studies: Institutionalizing Dissent*, edited by Isaiah Smithson and Nancy Ruff. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.

Pusca, Anca, ed. *Walter Benjamin and the Aesthetics of Change*. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Scannell, Paddy. "Benjamin Contextualized: On 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'." In *Canonic Texts in Media Research: Are There Any? Should There Be? How About These?*, edited by Elihu Katz et al. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003.

Valéry, Paul. “The Conquest of Ubiquity.” In *Aesthetics*, translated by Ralph Manheim. New York: Pantheon Books, 1964.

Vassiliou, Konstantinos. “The Aura of Art After the Advent of the Digital.” In *Walter Benjamin and the Aesthetics of Change*, edited by Anca Pusca, 158–170. New York and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Wolff, Janet. “Memoirs and Micrologies: Walter Benjamin, Feminism, and Cultural Analysis.” In *Walter Benjamin: Critical Interventions in Cultural Theory, Vol III: Appropriations*, edited by Peter Osborne, 319–33. London: Routledge, 2005.

[wormybrain]

this AI simplification is a great example to Benjamin’s warnings that reproducing a piece of art demolishes its aura and leaves the art open for misinterpretation.

for example, Benjamin does not suggest Film as a means for the mass to avoid propaganda or be able to think critically, “the moving film gives no time for contemplation, worsening the distracted condition and leaving the audience open to the film makers messaging” he writes