Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical

Reproduction
I
mechanical reproduction
Greeksfounding and stampingterra cotta, bronzes,
coins
woodcutsgraphic art becomes reproducible
Middle Agesengraving & etching
printing
1!lithograph"graphic art large numbers and dail"
changing forms
photograph"freed the handreproduction accelerated
facilitated reproduction of works of artimpact on art
in traditional form
replicas
pupils learning
masters
forgerersfor #nancial gain
II
mechanical reproduction is di$erent% Independent of the
original% can also bring out details of original which were
invisible to naked e"e%
can leave original placemore democraticaccessibilit"
for more peoplealso mentions music
reproductionnegativebecause &ualit" of presence
depreciated'also mentions landscape in a movie as
e(ample
does this also go some wa" to commenting on the
postcard%
is this aura%
slow motion and enlargementsee details
authenticit")essence, its histor"historical testimon" rests
on ob*ects authenticit"therefore also *eopardisedand
therefore authorit" of ob*ect &uestioned
ties up concepts of authenticit", historical testimon" and
authorit"mechanicall" reproduced ob*ect has none of
these%
back to concept of authenticit"natural vistahowever
reproducedits authenticit" is not compromised%
reproduction lacks traditional arts uni&ue presence in time and
space
uni&ue e(istence also dependent on its histor"+provenance
cf the ,a -inci in .erger #lmcome back to this
originalconcept of authenticit"reproduction can never be
authentic or the original
therefore photograph is never authentic%
manual reproduction)forger"lacks in authorit"
III
perception in/uenced b" nature and historical circumstances
0! 1omanchange in perceptione(pressed social changes
this bit is lost on meno idea%%2
aura of natural ob*ectsuni&ue phenomena of distance
irrelevant whether close or far awa"
guess he is sa"ing that in order to e(perience that
uni&ue situation, "ou have to be there% 1eprodcution of
he same will not give the same e(perience%
contemporar" deca" of aurasigni#cance of the masses
desire to bring things closerget hold of ob*ect b" wa"
of its likeness or reproductionpictures, mag,
newsreels
overcome uni&ueness of realit" b" accepting its
reproduction
naked e"euni&ueness and permanence3 reproduction
transitor"
not sure if I get thispermanence of seeing
something with naked e"eis it the seeing of the
4ob*ect4 seen that he is referring to%%
analog"pr"ing ob*ect from shelldestro"s its aura
similarl"reproduction of original artwork
removed from its shell, its hometherefore loss of
aura% ,isagreethere is still something about
seeing the real thing in the real place that holds
its aurathe reproduction serves merel" as a
conduit to the real thing%%
I-
uni&ueness of work of art inseparable from its being
embedded in tradition
-enus
Ancient Greeksveneration
MA clericsominous idol
.oth e&uall" confronted with its uni&ueness
art in traditioncultwork of art with reference to its
auranever separated from its ritual functionuni&ue
value of authentic art has basis in ritualwhere it was
originall" located and where it had its use value
magical
religious
the iconas in the .erger video
1enaissance cult of beaut"
art for the sake of artdenied social function of
art that had e(isted before
mechanical reproduction freed art from
dependence on ritual work of art reproduced
became work of art designed to be reproduced
here mentions no such thing as authentic
photograph
but here m" thought is taking me elsewhere
the photograph as ob*ect is not authentic
or singular like an artworkbut the moment
it records isso for me, we need to look
past the produc to the moment% ,unno
barking up wrong tree%
photographart no longer based on ritualnow based
on politics
idea of art being based on politics might become
clearer as course progresses%
-
art received and valued on di$erent planes
cult value
ceremoniale(istence more important than their
being on viewmentions 5tone Age drawingon
viewbut importance as homage to spirits
toda"cult valueincreased when ob*ects hidden
not accessiblementions religious icons visible
onl" to select few, or at certain times of "ear, or
certain placesfrescos, mosaics#(ed place
e(hibition value
freedom from ritualmore chance to e(hibitcan
be movednot in #(ed placepaintngs, busts6
mechanical reproductionincrease in 4#tness4 for
e(hibition
-I
e(hibition value of photographthreatens to replace cult
valuebut not in case of the portrait as cult of remembrance
of loved onesbut as people become no longer focus of
photographsthen e(hibition value surpasses cult value
!7 .arthes and !amera 8ucida% 9:eeds a re'read2;
Irrelevant for this sectionbut concept of memor" and
photograph" is #eld of interest for meto be developed
some time later
Atgetphotographs as historical evidenceac&uire a political
signi#cance
mentions captions for photographs as obligator" and di$erent
from titles in paintings
-II
photograph" separated art from basis in cult
-III
compares roles of stage actor and #lm actorabilit" of
camera to change anglesinabilit" of #lm actor to
ad*ust+react to stage audiencehis performance is
represented b" the cameraaudience as critic without
personal contact with actoraudience takes position of
camera
I<
#lm actor acts not for audience but for camera=mechanical
ob*ectwithout contact with audience both character being
pla"ed and actor loses aura% 7ilm actor as 4stage prop4%
not sure if agreedevelopment of the cult of celebrit"
replaces this%
<
#lm actor=strangenessestrangementshrivelling of aura
aura developed 4spell of personalit"4phone" commodit"
mention of readers becoming writersallows again for
democratisationinvolvement of the masses
what would be his reaction toda" with the internet and
blogging
1ussian #lmman" 4actors4 people who portra" themselves
and their work>estern #lm promoting illusion
does this link with societ" of the spectacle% :o ideanot
there "et2
<I
viewpoints#lmwe see same viewpoint as lensnot able to
look around as in stage productionour view is controlled b"
the creator
compares cameraman to painterbut painter ) magician3 and
camera man ) surgeon6 Art of painter is total ob*ect, #lm
made from fragments
<II
mechanical reproduction changes reaction of masses to art
points to reactionar" attitude to a ?icasso and progressive
towards a !haplin moviesuggests increased visual and
emotional en*o"ment of the latter
implies people will become more involvedor is it
because the #lm can reach a greater audience% @nlike
the ?icasso, it is not singular% ,unnobecause
mechanical reproduction of the ?icasso would allow it to
reach more people%
lesser social signi#cance of the artworkgreater divide
between criticism and en*o"ment b" the masses6 !onventional
art en*o"ed, new artaversion
average Aoe,avid 5hephard 9%; or ,amien Birst2
#lmreaction of individual in/uenced b" the reaction of the
masses6 ?aintingsnot designed to be simultaneousl" viewed
b" mass of people
cf .erger again
<III
behaviour items in #lmanal"se more closel" than those in
painting or stage performanceanal"se and isolate scenes
#lm and photograph"close'upsbeing able to see what
could not be seen previousl"also slow'motion in #lmshow
what could not previousl" be seen
photograph"e(posure to new vistas
<I-
,adasacri#ced market valueto create art which would
demand contemplation6 ." the means of production and
contentintended to destro" the aura of the productthe"
produced the reproduction
this to me is the de#nition of artthat which draws
attention, makes one think, demands reaction
<-
&ualit" given wa" to &uantit"masses seek distraction, art
demands contemplation
concentrationartworkviewer is absorbed b" it
distractionlike #lmviewer absorbs it

ob*ect was initiall" valued because of cult valueonl" later recognised as

work of art6 M1 has changed thisnow emphasis on its e(hibition value
#rst and foremostthis is what makes it a work of art%