THE WORK OF ART IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION

"Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in
times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon
things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of
our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the
ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound
changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful. In all the
arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or
treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern
knowledge and power. or the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor
time has been what it was from time immemorial. !e must e"pect great
innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby
affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an
amazing change in our very notion of art."
#aul $a%ery, #I&'&( ()* +,-*.,
+e 'onquete de l,ubiquite
PREFACE
When Marx undertook his critique of the capitalistic mode of production, this mode was in its
infancy Marx directed his efforts in such a way as to !i"e them pro!nostic "alue #e went
$ack to the $asic conditions underlyin! capitalistic production and throu!h his presentation
showed what could $e expected of capitalism in the future %he result was that one could
expect it not only to exploit the proletariat with increasin! intensity, $ut ultimately to create
conditions which would make it possi$le to a$olish capitalism itseld %he transformation of the
superstructure, which takes place far more slowly than that of the su$structure, has taken
more than halfa century to manifest in all areas of culture the chan!e in the conditions of
production &nly today can it $e indicated what form this has taken Certain pro!nostic
requirements should $e met $y these statements #owe"er, theses a$out the art of the
proletariat after its assumption of power or a$out the art of a classless society would ha"e less
$earin! on these demands than theses a$out the de"elopmental tendencies of art under present
conditions of production %heir dialectic is no less noticea$le in the superstructure than in the
economy 't would therefore $e wron! to underestimate the "alue of such theses as a weapon
%hey $rush aside a num$er of outmoded concepts, such as creati"ity and !enius, eternal "alue
and mystery((concepts whose uncontrolled )and at present almost uncontrolla$le* application
would lead to a processin! of data in the Fascist sense %he concepts which are introduced
into the theory of art in what follows differ from the more familiar terms in that they are
completely useless for the purposes of Fascism %hey are, on the other hand, useful for the
formulation of re"olutionary demands in the politics of art
I
'n principle a work of art has always $een reproduci$le Man(made artifacts could always $e
imitated $y men Replicas were made $y pupils in practice of their craft, $y masters for
diffusin! their works, and, finally, $y third parties in the pursuit of !ain Mechanical
reproduction of a work of art, howe"er, represents somethin! new #istorically, it ad"anced
intermittently and in leaps at lon! inter"als, $ut with accelerated intensity %he +reeks knew
only two procedures of technically reproducin! works of art, foundin! and stampin!
-ron.es, terra cottas, and coins were the only art works which they could produce in quantity
All others were unique and could not $e mechanically reproduced With the woodcut !raphic
art $ecame mechanically reproduci$le for the first time, lon! $efore script $ecame
reproduci$le $y print %he enormous chan!es which printin!, the mechanical reproduction of
writin!, has $rou!ht a$out in literature are a familiar story #owe"er, within the phenomenon
which we are here examinin! from the perspecti"e of world history, print is merely a special,
thou!h particularly important, case /urin! the Middle A!es en!ra"in! and etchin! were
added to the woodcut0 at the $e!innin! of the nineteenth century litho!raphy made its
appearance With litho!raphy the technique of reproduction reached an essentially new sta!e
%his much more direct process was distin!uished $y the tracin! of the desi!n on a stone rather
than its incision on a $lock of wood or its etchin! on a copperplate and permitted !raphic art
for the first time to put its products on the market, not only in lar!e num$ers as hitherto, $ut
also in daily chan!in! forms 1itho!raphy ena$led !raphic art to illustrate e"eryday life, and it
$e!an to keep pace with printin! -ut only a few decades after its in"ention, litho!raphy was
surpassed $y photo!raphy For the first time in the process of pictorial reproduction,
photo!raphy freed the hand of the most important artistic functions which henceforth
de"ol"ed only upon the eye lookin! into a lens 2ince the eye percei"es more swiftly than the
hand can draw, the process of pictorial reproduction was accelerated so enormously that it
could keep pace with speech A film operator shootin! a scene in the studio captures the
ima!es at the speed of an actor3s speech 4ust as litho!raphy "irtually implied the illustrated
newspaper, so did photo!raphy foreshadow the sound film %he technical reproduction of
sound was tackled at the end of the last century %hese con"er!ent endea"ors made predicta$le
a situation which Paul 5alery pointed up in this sentence, "Just as water, gas, an e!e"tr#"#t$
are %r&ug't #nt& &ur '&uses (r&) (ar &(( t& sat#s($ &ur nees #n res*&nse t& a )#n#)a!
e((&rt, s& we s'a!! %e su**!#e w#t' +#sua! &r au#t&r$ #)ages, w'#"' w#!! a**ear an
#sa**ear at a s#)*!e )&+e)ent &( t'e 'an, 'ar!$ )&re t'an a s#gn," Around 6788
technical reproduction had reached a standard that not only permitted it to reproduce all
transmitted works of art and thus to cause the most profound chan!e in their impact upon the
pu$lic0 it also had captured a place of its own amon! the artistic processes For the study of
this standard nothin! is more re"ealin! than the nature of the repercussions that these two
different manifestations((the reproduction of works of art and the art of the film((ha"e had on
art in its traditional form
II
E"en the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lackin! in one element, its presence in
time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to $e %his unique existence
of the work of art determined the history to which it was su$9ect throu!hout the time of its
existence %his includes the chan!es which it may ha"e suffered in physical condition o"er the
years as well as the "arious chan!es in its ownership %he traces of the first can $e re"ealed
only $y chemical or physical analyses which it is impossi$le to perform on a reproduction0
chan!es of ownership are su$9ect to a tradition which must $e traced from the situation of the
ori!inal
%he presence of the ori!inal is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity Chemical
analyses of the patina of a $ron.e can help to esta$lish this, as does the proof that a !i"en
manuscript of the Middle A!es stems from an archi"e of the fifteenth century %he whole
sphere of authenticity is outside technical((and, of course, not only technical((reproduci$ility
Confronted with its manual reproduction, which was usually $randed as a for!ery, the ori!inal
preser"ed all its authority0 not so "is a "is technical reproduction %he reason is twofold First,
process reproduction is more independent of the ori!inal than manual reproduction For
example, in photo!raphy, process reproduction can $rin! out those aspects of the ori!inal that
are unattaina$le to the naked eye yet accessi$le to the lens, which is ad9usta$le and chooses its
an!le at will And photo!raphic reproduction, with the aid of certain processes, such as
enlar!ement or slow motion, can capture ima!es which escape natural "ision 2econdly,
technical reproduction can put the copy of the ori!inal into situations which would $e out of
reach for the ori!inal itself A$o"e all, it ena$les the ori!inal to meet the $eholder halfway, $e
it in the form of a photo!raph or a phono!raph record %he cathedral lea"es its locale to $e
recei"ed in the studio of a lo"er of art0 the choral production, performed in an auditorium or in
the open air, resounds in the drawin! room
%he situations into which the product of mechanical reproduction can $e $rou!ht may not
touch the actual work of art, yet the quality of its presence is always depreciated %his holds
not only for the art work $ut also, for instance, for a landscape which passes in re"iew $efore
the spectator in a mo"ie 'n the case of the art o$9ect, a most sensiti"e nucleus((namely, its
authenticity((is interfered with whereas no natural o$9ect is "ulnera$le on that score %he
authenticity of a thin! is the essence of all that is transmissi$le from its $e!innin!, ran!in!
from its su$stanti"e duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced 2ince the
historical testimony rests on the authenticity, the former, too, is 9eopardi.ed $y reproduction
when su$stanti"e duration ceases to matter And what is really 9eopardi.ed when the historical
testimony is affected is the authority of the o$9ect
&ne mi!ht su$sume the eliminated element in the term :aura: and !o on to say, that which
withers in the a!e of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art %his is a
symptomatic process whose si!nificance points $eyond the realm of art &ne mi!ht !enerali.e
$y sayin!, the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced o$9ect from the domain of
tradition -y makin! many reproductions it su$stitutes a plurality of copies for a unique
existence And in permittin! the reproduction to meet the $eholder or listener in his own
particular situation, it reacti"ates the o$9ect reproduced %hese two processes lead to a
tremendous shatterin! of tradition which is the o$"erse of the contemporary crisis and
renewal of mankind -oth processes are intimately connected with the contemporary mass
mo"ements %heir most powerful a!ent is the film 'ts social si!nificance, particularly in its
most positi"e form, is inconcei"a$le without its destructi"e, cathartic aspect, that is, the
liquidation of the traditional "alue of the cultural herita!e %his phenomenon is most palpa$le
in the !reat historical films 't extends to e"er new positions 'n 67;< A$el +ance exclaimed
enthusiastically,
"(hakespeare, *embrandt, Beethoven will make films... all legends, all
mythologies and all myths, all founders of religion, and the very
religions... await their e"posed resurrection, and the heroes crowd each
other at the gate." #resumably without intending it, he issued an
invitation to a far/reaching liquidation."
III
/urin! lon! periods of history, the mode of human sense perception chan!es with humanity3s
entire mode of existence %he manner in which human sense perception is or!ani.ed, the
medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only $y nature $ut $y historical
circumstances as well %he fifth century, with its !reat shifts of population, saw the $irth of
the late Roman art industry and the 5ienna +enesis, and there de"eloped not only an art
different from that of antiquity $ut also a new kind of perception %he scholars of the
5iennese school, Rie!l and Wickhoff, who resisted the wei!ht of classical tradition under
which these later art forms had $een $uried, were the first to draw conclusions from them
concernin! the or!ani.ation of perception at the time #owe"er far(reachin! their insi!ht,
these scholars limited themsel"es to showin! the si!nificant, formal hallmark which
characteri.ed perception in late Roman times %hey did not attempt((and, perhaps, saw no
way((to show the social transformations expressed $y these chan!es of perception %he
conditions for an analo!ous insi!ht are more fa"ora$le in the present And if chan!es in the
medium of contemporary perception can $e comprehended as decay of the aura, it is possi$le
to show its social causes
%he concept of aura which was proposed a$o"e with reference to historical o$9ects may
usefully $e illustrated with reference to the aura of natural ones We define the aura of the
latter as the unique phenomenon of a distance, howe"er close it may $e 'f, while restin! on a
summer afternoon, you follow with your eyes a mountain ran!e on the hori.on or a $ranch
which casts its shadow o"er you, you experience the aura of those mountains, of that $ranch
%his ima!e makes it easy to comprehend the social $ases of the contemporary decay of the
aura 't rests on two circumstances, $oth of which are related to the increasin! si!nificance of
the masses in contemporary life =amely, the desire of contemporary masses to $rin! thin!s
:closer: spatially and humanly, which is 9ust as ardent as their $ent toward o"ercomin! the
uniqueness of e"ery reality $y acceptin! its reproduction E"ery day the ur!e !rows stron!er
to !et hold of an o$9ect at "ery close ran!e $y way of its likeness, its reproduction
>nmistaka$ly, reproduction as offered $y picture ma!a.ines and newsreels differs from the
ima!e seen $y the unarmed eye >niqueness and permanence are as closely linked in the latter
as are transitoriness and repro(duci$ility in the former %o pry an o$9ect from its shell, to
destroy its aura, is the mark of a perception whose :sense of the uni"ersal equality of thin!s:
has increased to such a de!ree that it extracts it e"en from a unique o$9ect $y means of
reproduction %hus is manifested in the field of perception what in the theoretical sphere is
noticea$le in the increasin! importance of statistics %he ad9ustment of reality to the masses
and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope, as much for thinkin! as for
perception
I-
%he uniqueness of a work of art is insepara$le from its $ein! im$edded in the fa$ric of
tradition %his tradition itself is thorou!hly ali"e and extremely chan!ea$le An ancient statue
of 5enus, for example, stood in a different traditional context with the +reeks, who made it an
o$9ect of "eneration, than with the clerics of the Middle A!es, who "iewed it as an ominous
idol -oth of them, howe"er, were equally confronted with its uniqueness, that is, its aura
&ri!inally the contextual inte!ration of art in tradition found its expression in the cult We
know that the earliest art works ori!inated in the ser"ice of a ritual((first the ma!ical, then the
reli!ious kind 't is si!nificant that the existence of the work of art with reference to its aura is
ne"er entirely separated from its ritual function 'n other words, the unique "alue of the
:authentic: work of art has its $asis in ritual, the location of its ori!inal use "alue %his
ritualistic $asis, howe"er remote, is still reco!ni.a$le as sec(ulari.ed ritual e"en in the most
profane forms of the cult of $eauty %he secular cult of $eauty, de"eloped durin! the
Renaissance and pre"ailin! for three centuries, clearly showed that ritualistic $asis in its
decline and the first deep crisis which $efell it With the ad"ent of the first truly re"olutionary
means of reproduction, photo!raphy, simultaneously with the rise of socialism, art sensed the
approachin! crisis which has $ecome e"ident a century later At the time, art reacted with the
doctrine ofl3art pour l3art, that is, with a theolo!y of art %his !a"e rise to what mi!ht $e called
a ne!ati"e theolo!y in the form of the idea of:pure: art, which not only denied any social
function of art $ut also any cate!ori.in! $y su$9ect matter )'n poetry, Mallarm? was the first
to take this position*
An analysis of art in the a!e of mechanical reproduction must do 9ustice to these relationships,
for they lead us to an all(important insi!ht, for the first time in world history, mechanical
reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual %o an e"er
!reater de!ree the work of art reproduced $ecomes the work of art desi!ned for
reproduci$ility From a photo!raphic ne!ati"e, for example, one can make any num$er of
prints0 to ask for the :authentic: print makes no sense -ut the instant the criterion of
authenticity ceases to $e applica$le to artistic production, the total function of art is re"ersed
'nstead of $ein! $ased on ritual, it $e!ins to $e $ased on another practice((politics
-
Works of art are recei"ed and "alued on different planes %wo polar types stand out0 with one,
the accent is on the cult "alue0 with the other, on the exhi$ition "alue of the work Artistic
production $e!ins with ceremonial o$9ects destined to ser"e in a cult &ne may assume that
what mattered was their existence, not their $ein! on "iew %he elk portrayed $y the man of
the 2tone A!e on the walls of his ca"e was an instrument of ma!ic #e did expose it to his
fellow men, $ut in the main it was meant for the spirits %oday the cult "alue would seem to
demand that the work of art remain hidden Certain statues of !ods are accessi$le only to the
priest in the cella0 certain Madonnas remain co"ered nearly all year round0 certain sculptures
on medie"al cathedrals are in"isi$le to the spectator on !round le"el With the emancipation
of the "arious art practices from ritual !o increasin! opportunities for the exhi$ition of their
products 't is easier to exhi$it a portrait $ust that can $e sent here and there than to exhi$it the
statue of a di"inity that has its fixed place in the interior of a temple %he same holds for the
paintin! as a!ainst the mosaic or fresco that preceded it And e"en thou!h the pu$lic
presenta$ility of a mass ori!inally may ha"e $een 9ust as !reat as that of a symphony, the
latter ori!inated at the moment when its pu$lic presenta$ility promised to surpass that of the
mass
With the different methods of technical reproduction of a work of art, its fitness for exhi$ition
increased to such an extent that the quantitati"e shift $etween its two poles turned into a
qualitati"e transformation of its nature %his is compara$le to the situation of the work of art
in prehistoric times when, $y the a$solute emphasis on its cult "alue, it was, first and
foremost, an instrument of ma!ic &nly later did it come to $e reco!ni.ed as a work of art 'n
the same way today, $y the a$solute emphasis on its exhi$ition "alue the work of art $ecomes
a creation with entirely new functions, amon! which the one we are conscious of, the artistic
function, later may $e reco!ni.ed as incidental %his much is certain, today photo!raphy and
the film are the most ser"icea$le exemplifications of this new function
-I
'n photo!raphy, exhi$ition "alue $e!ins to displace cult "alue all alon! the line -ut cult "alue
does not !i"e way without resistance 't retires into an ultimate retrenchment, the human
countenance 't is no accident that the portrait was the focal point of early photo!raphy %he
cult of remem$rance of lo"ed ones, a$sent or dead, offers a last refuse for the cult "alue of the
picture For the last time the aura emanates from the early photo!raphs in the fleetin!
expression of a human face %his is what constitutes their melancholy, incompara$le $eauty
-ut as man withdraws from the photo!raphic ima!e, the exhi$ition "alue for the first time
shows its superiority to the ritual "alue %o ha"e pinpointed this new sta!e constitutes the
incompara$le si!nificance of At!et, who, around 6788, took photo!raphs of deserted Paris
streets 't has quite 9ustly $een said of him that he photo!raphed them like scenes of crime
%he scene of a crime, too, is deserted0 it is photo!raphed for the purpose of esta$lishin!
e"idence With At!et, photo!raphs $ecome standard e"idence for historical occurrences, and
acquire a hidden political si!nificance %hey demand a specific kind of approach0 free(floatin!
contemplation is not appropriate to them %hey stir the "iewer0 he feels challen!ed $y them in
a new way At the same time picture ma!a.ines $e!in to put up si!nposts for him, ri!ht ones
or wron! ones, no matter For the first time, captions ha"e $ecome o$li!atory And it is clear
that they ha"e an alto!ether different character than the title of a paintin! %he directi"es
which the captions !i"e to those lookin! at pictures in illustrated ma!a.ines soon $ecome
e"en more explicit and more imperati"e in the film where the meanin! of each sin!le picture
appears to $e prescri$ed $y the sequence of all precedin! ones
-II
%he nineteenth(century dispute as to the artistic "alue of paintin! "ersus photo!raphy today
seems de"ious and confused %his does not diminish its importance, howe"er0 if anythin!, it
underlines it %he dispute was in fact the symptom of a historical transformation the uni"ersal
impact of which was not reali.ed $y either of the ri"als When the a!e of mechanical
reproduction separated art from its $asis in cult, the sem$lance of its autonomy disappeared
fore"er %he resultin! chan!e in the function of art transcended the perspecti"e of the century0
for a lon! time it e"en escaped that of the twentieth century, which experienced the
de"elopment of the film Earlier much futile thou!ht had $een de"oted to the question of
whether photo!raphy is an art %he primary question((whether the "ery in"ention of
photo!raphy had not transformed the entire nature of art((was not raised 2oon the film
theoreticians asked the same ill(considered question with re!ard to the film -ut the
difficulties which photo!raphy caused traditional aesthetics were mere child3s play as
compared to those raised $y the film Whence the insensiti"e and forced character of early
theories of the film A$el +ance, for instance, compares the film with hiero!lyphs, :#ere, $y
a remarka$le re!ression, we ha"e come $ack to the le"el of expression of the E!yptians
Pictorial lan!ua!e has not yet matured $ecause our eyes ha"e not yet ad9usted to it %here is as
yet insufficient respect for, insufficient cult of, what it expresses: &r, in the words of
2@"erin(Mars, :What art has $een !ranted a dream more poetical and more real at the same
timeA Approached in this fashion the film mi!ht represent an incompara$le means of
expression &nly the most hi!h(minded persons, in the most perfect and mysterious moments
of their li"es, should $e allowed to enter its am$ience: Alexandre Arnoux concludes his
fantasy a$out the silent film with the question, :/o not all the $old descriptions we ha"e
!i"en amount to the definition of prayerB: 't is instructi"e to note how their desire to class the
film amon! the :arts: forces these theoreticians to read ritual elements into it((with a strikin!
lack of discretion Cet when these speculations were pu$lished, films like 13&pinion pu$lique
and %he +old Rush had already appeared %his, howe"er, did not keep A$el +ance from
adducin! hiero!lyphs for purposes of comparison, nor 2D"erin(Mars from speakin! of the
film as one mi!ht speak of paintin!s $y Fra An!elico Characteristically, e"en today
ultrareactionary authors !i"e the film a similar contextual si!nificance((if not an outri!ht
sacred one, then at least a supernatural one Commentin! on Max Reinhardt3s film "ersion of
A Midsummer =i!ht3s /ream, Werfel states that undou$tedly it was the sterile copyin! of the
exterior world with its streets, interiors, railroad stations, restaurants, motorcars, and $eaches
which until now had o$structed the ele"ation of the film to the realm of art :%he film has not
yet reali.ed its true meanin!, its real possi$ilities these consist in its unique faculty to
express $y natural means and with incompara$le persuasi"eness all that is fairylike,
mar"elous, supernatural:
-III
%he artistic performance of a sta!e actor is definitely presented to the pu$lic $y the actor in
person0 that of the screen actor, howe"er, is presented $y a camera, with a twofold
consequence %he camera that presents the performance of the film actor to the pu$lic need
not respect the performance as an inte!ral whole +uided $y the cameraman, the camera
continually chan!es its position with respect to the performance %he sequence of positional
"iews which the editor composes from the material supplied him constitutes the completed
film 't comprises certain factors of mo"ement which are in reality those of the camera, not to
mention special camera an!les, close(ups, etc #ence, the performance of the actor is
su$9ected to a series of optical tests %his is the first consequence of the fact that the actor3s
performance is presented $y means of a camera Also, the film actor lacks the opportunity of
the sta!e actor to ad9ust to the audience durin! his performance, since he does not present his
performance to the audience in person %his permits the audience to take the position of a
critic, without experiencin! any personal contact with the actor %he audience3s identification
with the actor is really an identification with the camera Consequently the audience takes the
position of the camera0 its approach is that of testin! %his is not the approach to which cult
"alues may $e exposed
I.
For the film, what matters primarily is that the actor represents himself to the pu$lic $efore
the camera, rather than representin! someone else &ne of the first to sense the actor3s
metamorphosis $y this form of testin! was Pirandello %hou!h his remarks on the su$9ect in
his no"el Si Gira were limited to the ne!ati"e aspects of the question and to the silent film
only, this hardly impairs their "alidity For in this respect, the sound film did not chan!e
anythin! essential What matters is that the part is acted not for an audience $ut for a
mechanical contri"ance((in the case of the sound film, for two of them :%he film actor,:
wrote Pirandello, :feels as if in exile((exiled not only from the sta!e $ut also from himself
With a "a!ue sense of discomfort he feels inexplica$le emptiness, his $ody loses its
corporeality, it e"aporates, it is depri"ed of reality, life, "oice, and the noises caused $y his
mo"in! a$out, in order to $e chan!ed into a mute ima!e, flickerin! an instant on the screen,
then "anishin! into silence %he pro9ector will play with his shadow $efore the pu$lic, and
he himself must $e content to play $efore the camera: %his situation mi!ht also $e
characteri.ed as follows, for the first time((and this is the effect of the film((man has to
operate with his whole li"in! person, yet for!oin! its aura For aura is tied to his presence0
there can $e no replica of it %he aura which, on the sta!e, emanates from Mac$eth, cannot $e
separated for the spectators from that of the actor #owe"er, the sin!ularity of the shot in the
studio is that the camera is su$stituted for the pu$lic Consequently, the aura that en"elops the
actor "anishes, and with it the aura of the fi!ure he portrays
't is not surprisin! that it should $e a dramatist such as Pirandello who, in characteri.in! the
film, inad"ertently touches on the "ery crisis in which we see the theater Any thorou!h study
pro"es that there is indeed no !reater contrast than that of the sta!e play to a work of art that
is completely su$9ect to or, like the film, founded in, mechanical reproduction Experts ha"e
lon! reco!ni.ed that in the film :the !reatest effects are almost always o$tained $y 3actin!3 as
little as possi$le : 'n 67E; Rudolf Arnheim saw :the latest trend in treatin! the actor as a
sta!e prop chosen for its characteristics and inserted at the proper place: With this idea
somethin! else is closely connected %he sta!e actor identifies himself with the character of
his role %he film actor "ery often is denied this opportunity #is creation is $y no means all of
a piece0 it is composed of many separate performances -esides certain fortuitous
considerations, such as cost of studio, a"aila$ility of fellow players, d@cor, etc, there are
elementary necessities of equipment that split the actor3s work into a series of mounta$le
episodes 'n particular, li!htin! and its installation require the presentation of an e"ent that, on
the screen, unfolds as a rapid and unified scene, in a sequence of separate shootin!s which
may take hours at the studio0 not to mention more o$"ious monta!e %hus a 9ump from the
window can $e shot in the studio as a 9ump from a scaffold, and the ensuin! fli!ht, if need $e,
can $e shot weeks later when outdoor scenes are taken Far more paradoxical cases can easily
$e construed 1et us assume that an actor is supposed to $e startled $y a knock at the door 'f
his reaction is not satisfactory, the director can resort to an expedient, when the actor happens
to $e at the studio a!ain he has a shot fired $ehind him without his $ein! forewarned of it %he
fri!htened reaction can $e shot now and $e cut into the screen "ersion =othin! more
strikin!ly shows that art has left the realm of the :$eautiful sem$lance: which, so far, had
$een taken to $e the only sphere where art could thri"e
.
%he feelin! of stran!eness that o"ercomes the actor $efore the camera, as Pir(andello
descri$es it, is $asically of the same kind as the estran!ement felt $efore one3s own ima!e in
the mirror -ut now the reflected ima!e has $ecome separa$le, transporta$le And where is it
transportedB -efore the pu$lic =e"er for a moment does the screen actor cease to $e
conscious of this fact While facin! the camera he knows that ultimately he will face the
pu$lic, the consumers who constitute the market %his market, where he offers not only his
la$or $ut also his whole self, his heart and soul, is $eyond his reach /urin! the shootin! he
has as little contact with it as any article made in a factory %his may contri$ute to that
oppression, that new anxiety which, accordin! to Pirandello, !rips the actor $efore the
camera %he film responds to the shri"elin! of the aura with an artificial $uild(up of the
:personality: outside the studio %he cult of the mo"ie star, fostered $y the money of the film
industry, preser"es not the unique aura of the person $ut the :spell of the personality,: the
phony spell of a commodity 2o lon! as the mo"ie(makers3 capital sets the fashion, as a rule
no other re"olutionary merit can $e accredited to today3s film than the promotion of a
re"olutionary criticism of traditional concepts of art We do not deny that in some cases
today3s films can also promote re"olutionary criticism of social conditions, e"en of the
distri$ution of property #owe"er, our present study is no more specifically concerned with
this than is the film production of Western Europe
't is inherent in the technique of the film as well as that of sports that e"ery$ody who
witnesses its accomplishments is somewhat of an expert %his is o$"ious to anyone listenin!
to a !roup of newspaper $oys leanin! on their $icycles and discussin! the outcome of a
$icycle race 't is not for nothin! that newspaper pu$lishers arran!e races for their deli"ery
$oys %hese arouse !reat interest amon! the participants, for the "ictor has an opportunity to
rise from deli"ery $oy to professional racer 2imilarly, the newsreel offers e"eryone the
opportunity to rise from passer($y to mo"ie extra 'n this way any man mi!ht e"en find
himself part of a work of art, as witness 5ertofl3s %hree 2on!s A$out 1enin or '"en3s
-orina!e Any man today can lay claim to $ein! filmed %his claim can $est $e elucidated $y
a comparati"e look at the historical situation of contemporary literature
For centuries a small num$er of writers were confronted $y many thousands of readers %his
chan!ed toward the end of the last century With the increasin! extension of the press, which
kept placin! new political, reli!ious, scientific, professional, and local or!ans $efore the
readers, an increasin! num$er of readers $ecame writ(ers(at first, occasional ones 't $e!an
with the daily press openin! to its readers space for :letters to the editor: And today there is
hardly a !ainfully employed European who could not, in principle, find an opportunity to
pu$lish somewhere or other comments on his work, !rie"ances, documentary reports, or that
sort of thin! %hus, the distinction $etween author and pu$lic is a$out to lose its $asic
character %he difference $ecomes merely functional0 it may "ary from case to case At any
moment the reader is ready to turn into a writer As expert, which he had to $ecome willy(
nilly in an extremely speciali.ed work process, e"en if only in some minor respect, the reader
!ains access to authorship 'n the 2o"iet >nion work itself is !i"en a "oice %o present it
"er$ally is part of a man3s a$ility to perform the work 1iterary license is now founded on
polytechnic rather than speciali.ed trainin! and thus $ecomes common property
All this can easily $e applied to the film, where transitions that in literature took centuries
ha"e come a$out in a decade 'n cinematic practice, particularly in Russia, this chan!e(o"er
has partially $ecome esta$lished reality 2ome of the players whom we meet in Russian films
are not actors in our sense $ut people who portray themsel"esmand primarily in their own
work process 'n Western Europe the capitalistic exploitation of the film denies consideration
to modern man3s le!itimate claim to $ein! reproduced >nder these circumstances the film
industry is tryin! hard to spur the interest of the masses throu!h illusion(promotin! spectacles
and du$ious speculations
.I
%he shootin! of a film, especially of a sound film, affords a spectacle unima!ina$le anywhere
at any time $efore this 't presents a process in which it is impossi$le to assi!n to a spectator a
"iewpoint which would exclude from the actual scene such extraneous accessories as camera
equipment, li!htin! machinery, staff assistants, etc((unless his eye were on a line parallel
with the lens %his circumstance, more than any other, renders superficial and insi!nificant
any possi$le similarity $etween a scene in the studio and one on the sta!e 'n the theater one is
well aware of the place from which the play cannot immediately $e detected as illusionary
%here is no such place for the mo"ie scene that is $ein! shot 'ts illusionary nature is that of
the second de!ree, the result of cuttin! %hat is to say, in the studio the mechanical equipment
has penetrated so deeply into reality that its pure aspect freed from the forei!n su$stance of
equipment is the result of a special procedure, namely, the shootin! $y the specially ad9usted
camera and the mountin! of the shot to!ether with other similar ones %he equipment(free
aspect of reality here has $ecome the hei!ht of artifice0 the si!ht of immediate reality has
$ecome an orchid in the land of technolo!y
E"en more re"ealin! is the comparison of these circumstances, which differ so much from
those of the theater, with the situation in paintin! #ere the question is, #ow does the
cameraman compare with the painterB %o answer this we take recourse to an analo!y with a
sur!ical operation %he sur!eon represents the polar opposite of the ma!ician %he ma!ician
heals a sick person $y the layin! on of hands0 the sur!eon cuts into the patient3s $ody %he
ma!ician maintains the natural distance $etween the patient and himself0 thou!h he reduces it
"ery sli!htly $y the layin! on of hands, he !reatly increases it $y "irtue of his authority %he
sur!eon does exactly the re"erse0 he !reatly diminishes the distance $etween himself and the
patient $y penetratin! into the patient3s $ody, and increases it $ut little $y the caution with
which his hand mo"es amon! the or!ans 'n short, in contrast to the ma!i(cian(who is still
hidden in the medical practitioner((the sur!eon at the decisi"e moment a$stains from facin!
the patient man to man0 rather, it is throu!h the operation that he penetrates into him
Ma!ician and sur!eon compare to painter and cameraman %he painter maintains in his work
a natural distance from reality, the cameraman penetrates deeply into its we$ %here is a
tremendous difference $etween the pictures they o$tain %hat of the painter is a total one, that
of the cameraman consists of multiple fra!ments which are assem$led under a new law %hus,
for contemporary man the representation of reality $y the film is incompara$ly more
si!nificant than that of the painter, since it offers, precisely $ecause of the thorou!h!oin!
permeation of reality with mechanical equipment, an aspect of reality which is free of all
equipment And that is what one is entitled to ask from a work of art
.II
Mechanical reproduction of art chan!es the reaction of the masses toward art %he reactionary
attitude toward a Picasso paintin! chan!es into the pro!ressi"e reaction toward a Chaplin
mo"ie %he pro!ressi"e reaction is characteri.ed $y the direct, intimate fusion of "isual and
emotional en9oyment with the orientation of the expert 2uch fusion is of !reat social
si!nificance %he !reater the decrease in the social si!nificance of an art form, the sharper the
distinction $etween criticism and en9oyment $y the pu$lic %he con"entional is uncritically
en9oyed, and the truly new is critici.ed with a"ersion With re!ard to the screen, the critical
and the recepti"e attitudes of the pu$lic coincide %he decisi"e reason for this is that
indi"idual reactions are predetermined $y the mass audience response they are a$out to pro(
duce, and this is nowhere more pronounced than in the film %he moment these responses
$ecome manifest they control each other A!ain, the comparison with paintin! is fruitful A
paintin! has always had an excellent chance to $e "iewed $y one person or $y a few %he
simultaneous contemplation of paintin!s $y a lar!e pu$lic, such as de"eloped in the
nineteenth century, is an early symptom of the crisis of paintin!, a crisis which was $y no
means occasioned exclusi"ely $y photo!raphy $ut rather in a relati"ely independent manner
$y the appeal of art works to the masses
Paintin! simply is in no position to present an o$9ect for simultaneous collecti"e experience,
as it was possi$le for architecture at all times, for the epic poem in the past, and for the mo"ie
today Althou!h this circumstance in itself should not lead one to conclusions a$out the social
role of paintin!, it does constitute a serious threat as soon as paintin!, under special conditions
and, as it were, a!ainst its nature, is confronted directly $y the masses 'n the churches and
monasteries of the Middle A!es and at the princely courts up to the end of the ei!hteenth
century, a collecti"e reception of paintin!s did not occur simultaneously, $ut $y !raduated and
hierarchi.ed mediation %he chan!e that has come a$out is an expression of the particular
conflict in which paintin! was implicated $y the mechanical repro(duci$ility of paintin!s
Althou!h paintin!s $e!an to $e pu$licly exhi$ited in !alleries and salons, there was no way
for the masses to or!ani.e and control themsel"es in their reception %hus the same pu$lic
which responds in a pro!ressi"e manner toward a !rotesque film is $ound to respond in a
reactionary manner to surrealism
.III
%he characteristics of the film lie not only in the manner in which man presents himself to
mechanical equipment $ut also in the manner in which, $y means of this apparatus, man can
represent his en"ironment A !lance at occupational psycholo!y illustrates the testin! capacity
of the equipment Psychoanalysis illustrates it in a different perspecti"e %he film has enriched
our field of perception with methods which can $e illustrated $y those of Freudian theory
Fifty years a!o, a slip of the ton!ue passed more or less unnoticed &nly exceptionally may
such a slip ha"e re"ealed dimensions of depth in a con"ersation which had seemed to $e
takin! its course on the surface 2ince the Psychopatholo!y of E"eryday 1ife thin!s ha"e
chan!ed %his $ook isolated and made analy.a$le thin!s which had heretofore floated alon!
unnoticed in the $road stream of perception For the entire spectrum of optical, and now also
acoustical, perception the film has $rou!ht a$out a similar deepenin! of apperception 't is
only an o$"erse of this fact that $eha"ior items shown in a mo"ie can $e analy.ed much more
precisely and from more points of "iew than those presented on paintin!s or on the sta!e As
compared with paintin!, filmed $eha"ior lends itself more readily to analysis $ecause of its
incompara$ly more precise statements of the situation 'n comparison with the sta!e scene,
the filmed $eha"ior item lends itself more readily to analysis $ecause it can $e isolated more
easily %his circumstance deri"es its chief importance from its tendency to promote the mutual
penetration of art and science Actually, of a screened $eha"ior item which is neatly $rou!ht
out in a certain situation, like a muscle of a $ody, it is difficult to say which is more
fascinatin!, its artistic "alue or its "alue for science %o demonstrate the identity of the artistic
and scientific uses of photo!raphy which heretofore usually were separated will $e one of the
re"olutionary functions of the film
-y close(ups of the thin!s around us, $y focusin! on hidden details of familiar o$9ects, $y
explorin! common place milieus under the in!enious !uidance of the camera, the film, on the
one hand, extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our li"es0 on the other
hand, it mana!es to assure us of an immense and unexpected field of action &ur ta"erns and
our metropolitan streets, our offices and furnished rooms, our railroad stations and our
factories appeared to ha"e us locked up hopelessly %hen came the film and $urst this prison(
world asunder $y the dynamite of the tenth of a second, so that now, in the midst of its far(
flun! ruins and de$ris, we calmly and ad"enturously !o tra"elin! With the close(up, space
expands0 with slow motion, mo"ement is extended %he enlar!ement of a snapshot does not
simply render more precise what in any case was "isi$le, thou!h unclear, it re"eals entirely
new structural formations of the su$9ect 2o, too, slow motion not only presents familiar
qualities of mo"ement $ut re"eals in them entirely unknown ones :which, far from lookin!
like retarded rapid mo"ements, !i"e the effect of sin!ularly !lidin!, floatin!, supernatural
motions: E"idently a different nature opens itself to the camera than opens to the naked eye((
if only $ecause an unconsciously penetrated space is su$stituted for a space consciously
explored $y man E"en if one has a !eneral knowled!e of the way people walk, one knows
nothin! of a person3s posture durin! the fractional second of a stride %he act of reachin! for a
li!hter or a spoon is familiar routine, yet we hardly know what really !oes on $etween hand
and metal, not to mention how this fluctuates with our moods #ere the camera inter"enes
with the resources of its lowerin!s and liftin!s, its interruptions and isolations, it extensions
and accelerations, its enlar!ements and reductions %he camera introduces us to unconscious
optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses
.I-
&ne of the foremost tasks of art has always $een the creation of a demand which could $e
fully satisfied only later %he history of e"ery art form shows critical epochs in which a certain
art form aspires to effects which could $e fully o$tained only with a chan!ed technical
standard, that is to say, in a new art form %he extra"a!ances and crudities of art which thus
appear, particularly in the so(called decadent epochs, actually arise from the nucleus of its
richest historical ener!ies 'n recent years, such $ar$arisms were a$undant in /adaism 't is
only now that its impulse $ecomes discerni$le, /adaism attempted to create $y pictorial((and
literary((means the effects which the pu$lic today seeks in the film
E"ery fundamentally new, pioneerin! creation of demands will carry $eyond its !oal
/adaism did so to the extent that it sacrificed the market "alues which are so characteristic of
the film in fa"or of hi!her am$itions((thou!h of course it was not conscious of such intentions
as here descri$ed %he /adaists attached much less importance to the sales "alue of their work
than to its usefulness for contemplati"e immersion %he studied de!radation of their material
was not the least of their means to achie"e this uselessness %heir poems are :word salad:
containin! o$scenities and e"ery ima!ina$le waste product of lan!ua!e %he same is true of
their paintin!s, on which they mounted $uttons and tickets What they intended and achie"ed
was a relentless destruction of the aura of their creations, which they $randed as reproductions
with the "ery means of production -efore a paintin! of Arp3s or a poem $y Au!ust 2tramm it
is impossi$le to take time for contemplation and e"aluation as one would $efore a can"as of
/erain3s or a poem $y Rilke 'n the decline of middle(class society, contemplation $ecame a
school for asocial $eha"ior0 it was countered $y distraction as a "ariant of social conduct
/adaistic acti"ities actually assured a rather "ehement distraction $y makin! works of art the
center of scandal &ne requirement was foremost, to outra!e the pu$lic
From an allurin! appearance or persuasi"e structure of sound the work of art of the /adaists
$ecame an instrument of $allistics 't hit the spectator like a $ullet, it happened to him, thus
acquirin! a tactile quality 't promoted a demand for the film, the distractin! element of which
is also primarily tactile, $ein! $ased on chan!es of place and focus which periodically assail
the spectator 1et us compare the screen on which a film unfolds with the can"as of a paintin!
%he paintin! in"ites the spectator to contemplation0 $efore it the spectator can a$andon
himself to his associations -efore the mo"ie frame he cannot do so =o sooner has his eye
!rasped a scene than it is already chan!ed 't cannot $e arrested /uhamel, who detests the
film and knows nothin! of its si!nificance, thou!h somethin! of its structure, notes this
circumstance as follows, :' can no lon!er think what ' want to think My thou!hts ha"e $een
replaced $y mo"in! ima!es: %he spectator3s process of association in "iew of these ima!es is
indeed interrupted $y their constant, sudden chan!e %his constitutes the shock effect of the
film, which, like all shocks, should $e cushioned $y hei!htened presence of mind -y means
of its technical structure, the film has taken the physical shock effect out of the wrappers in
which /adaism had, as it were, kept it inside the moral shock effect
.-
%he mass is a matrix from which all traditional $eha"ior toward works of art issues today in a
new form Fuantity has $een transmuted into quality %he !reatly increased mass of
participants has produced a chan!e in the mode of participation %he fact that the new mode
of participation first appeared in a disreputa$le form must not confuse the spectator Cet some
people ha"e launched spirited attacks a!ainst precisely this superficial aspect Amon! these,
/uhamel has expressed him(selfin the most radical manner What he o$9ects to most is the
kind of participation which the mo"ie elicits from the masses /uhamel calls the mo"ie :a
pastime for helots, a di"ersion for uneducated, wretched, worn(out creatures who are
consumed $y their worries a spectacle which requires no concentration and presupposes no
intelli!ence which kindles no li!ht in the heart and awakens no hope other than the ridiculous
one of someday $ecomin! a 3star3 in 1os An!eles: Clearly, this is at $ottom the same ancient
lament that the masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator
%hat is a commonplace
%he question remains whether it pro"ides a platform for the analysis of the film A closer look
is needed here /istraction and concentration form polar opposites which may $e stated as
follows, A man who concentrates $efore a work of art is a$sor$ed $y it #e enters into this
work of an the way le!end tells of the Chinese painter when he "iewed his finished paintin!
'n contrast, the distracted mass a$sor$s the work of art %his is most o$"ious with re!ard to
$uildin!s Architecture has always represented the prototype of a work of art the reception of
which is consummated $y a collecti"ity in a state of distraction %he laws of its reception are
most instructi"e
-uildin!s ha"e $een man3s companions since prime"al times Many art forms ha"e de"eloped
and perished %ra!edy $e!ins with the +reeks, is extin!uished with them, and after centuries
its :rules: only are re"i"ed %he epic poem, which had its ori!in in the youth of nations,
expires in Europe at the end of the Renaissance Panel paintin! is a creation of the Middle
A!es, and nothin! !uarantees its uninterrupted existence -ut the human need for shelter is
lastin! Architecture has ne"er $een idle 'ts history is more ancient than that of any other art,
and its claim to $ein! a li"in! force has si!nificance in e"ery attempt to comprehend the
relationship of the masses to art -uildin!s are appropriated in a twofold manner, $y use and
$y perception((or rather, $y touch and si!ht 2uch appropriation cannot $e understood in
terms of the attenti"e concentration of a tourist $efore a famous $uildin! &n the tactile side
there is no counterpart to contemplation on the optical side %actile appropriation is
accomplished not so much $y attention as $y ha$it As re!ards architecture, ha$it determines
to a lar!e extent e"en optical reception %he latter, too, occurs much less throu!h rapt attention
than $y noticin! the o$9ect in incidental fashion %his mode of appropriation, de"eloped with
reference to architecture, in certain circumstances acquires canonical "alue For the tasks
which face the human apparatus of perception at the turnin! points of history cannot $e sol"ed
$y optical means, that is, $y contemplation, alone %hey are mastered !radually $y ha$it,
under the !uidance of tactile appropriation
%he distracted person, too, can form ha$its More, the a$ility to master certain tasks in a state
of distraction pro"es that their solution has $ecome a matter of ha$it /istraction as pro"ided
$y art presents a co"ert control of the extent to which new tasks ha"e $ecome solu$le $y
apperception 2ince, moreo"er, indi"iduals are tempted to a"oid such tasks, art will tackle the
most difficult and most important ones where it is a$le to mo$ili.e the masses %oday it does
so in the film Reception in a state of distraction, which is increasin! noticea$ly in all fields of
art and is symptomatic of profound chan!es in apperception, finds in the film its true means
of exercise %he film with its shock effect meets this mode of reception halfway %he film
makes the cult "alue recede into the $ack!round not only $y puttin! the pu$lic in the position
of the critic, $ut also $y the fact that at the mo"ies this position requires no attention %he
pu$lic is an examiner, $ut an a$sent(minded one
EPILOGUE
%he !rowin! proletariani.ation of modern man and the increasin! formation of masses are
two aspects of the same process Fascism attempts to or!ani.e the newly created proletarian
masses without affectin! the property structure which the masses stri"e to eliminate Fascism
sees its sal"ation in !i"in! these masses not their ri!ht, $ut instead a chance to express
themsel"es %he masses ha"e a ri!ht to chan!e property relations0 Fascism seeks to !i"e them
an expression while preser"in! property %he lo!ical result of Fascism is the introduction of
aesthetics into political life %he "iolation of the masses, whom Fascism, with its Fiihrer cult,
forces to their knees, has its counterpart in the "iolation of an apparatus which is pressed into
the production of ritual "alues
All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thin!, war War and war only can set a
!oal for mass mo"ements on the lar!est scale while respectin! the traditional property system
%his is the political formula for the situation %he technolo!ical formula may $e stated as
follows, &nly war makes it possi$le to mo$ili.e all of today3s technical resources while
maintainin! the property system 't !oes without sayin! that the Fascist apotheosis of war
does not employ such ar!uments 2till, Marinetti says in his manifesto on the Ethiopian
colonial war,
"or twenty/seven years we uturists have rebelled against the branding of
war as antiaes/thetic .... -ccordingly we state0... !ar is beautiful
because it establishes man,s dominion over the sub1ugated machinery by
means of gas masks, terrifying megaphones, flame throwers, and small tanks.
!ar is beautiful because it initiates the dreamt/of metalization of the
human body. !ar is beautiful because it enriches a flowering meadow with
the fiery orchids of machine guns. !ar is beautiful because it combines the
gunfire, the cannonades, the cease/fire, the scents, and the stench of
putrefaction into a symphony. !ar is beautiful because it creates new
architecture, like that of the big tanks, the geometrical formation
flights, the smoke spirals from burning villages, and many others ....
#oets and artists of uturism2 ... remember these principles of an
aesthetics of war so that your struggle for a new literature and a new
graphic art... may be illumined by them2"
%his manifesto has the "irtue of clarity 'ts formulations deser"e to $e accepted $y
dialecticians %o the latter, the aesthetics of today3s war appears as follows, 'f the natural
utili.ation of producti"e forces is impeded $y the property system, the increase in technical
de"ices, in speed, and in the sources of ener!y will press for an unnatural utili.ation, and this
is found in war %he destructi"eness of war furnishes proof that society has not $een mature
enou!h to incorporate technolo!y as its or!an, that technolo!y has not $een sufficiently
de"eloped to cope with the elemental forces of society %he horri$le features of imperialistic
warfare are attri$uta$le to the discrepancy $etween the tremendous means of production and
their inadequate utili.ation in the process of production((in other words, to unemployment and
the lack of markets 'mperialistic war is a re$ellion of technolo!y which collects, in the form
of :human material,: the claims to which society has denied its natural materrial 'nstead of
drainin! ri"ers, society directs a human stream into a $ed of trenches0 instead of droppin!
seeds from airplanes, it drops incendiary $om$s o"er cities0 and throu!h !as warfare the aura
is a$olished in a new way
:Fiat ars((pereat mundus, :says Fascism, and, as Marinetti admits, expects war to supply the
artistic !ratification of a sense perception that has $een chan!ed $y technolo!y %his is
e"idently the consummation of :l3art pour l3art: Mankind, which in #omer3s time was an
o$9ect of contemplation for the &lympian !ods, now is one for itself 'ts self(alienation has
reached such a de!ree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the
first order %his is the situation of politics which Fascism is renderin! aesthetic Communism
responds $y politici.in! art
67EG