Walter Benjamin By Julio Castrejon MAT 103

Introduction Walter Benjamin ( ) was a Jewish and German intellectual who is known for as a literary critic in a Marxist sytle. His work focuses on historical materialism with German idealism and Jewish mystiscism. His philosophy was highly regarded among the intellectual society. He was influence by Johann Jakob Bachofen who was an anthropologist.

Work of Art in Reproduction Man made artifacts have always been reproduced by different classes of men. Pupils use it to practice their craft while masters spread across their work, and the rest for personal gain. Mechanical reproduction is not done by men directly, but rather by machines or objects such as stamps are use to reproduce large quantities in a short period. However, mechanical reproduction is limited to its technology of its period and cannot reproduce everything that is manmade.

Print and Lithography As Benjamin states printing is, “the mechanical reproduction of writing” which became a phenomenon and yet something special. Lithography takes reproduction to a new stage as it is used for newspaper for images. This illustrated everyday life as a graphic art which is reproduced in large quantities for the masses.

From Lithography to Photography Lithography was soon replaced by photography which freed the hand from the most important aspects of creating art. Looking through the lens using the eye becomes the norm for pictorial process as it is quicker than the hand, it can keep up the pace with speech during this process.

Original to Reproduction Benjamin states that a perfect reproduction of a piece of work lacks in “its presence in time and space, its unique existence.” Traces of original piece of work are revealed through chemical and physical analyses which is lacking on a reproduction. The uniqueness of the reproduction is lost compare to the original.

Technical Reproduction Technical reproduction allows for the copies to reach beyond what the original can do. This can be exemplified through a photograph or a phonograph. It can spread out farther than the original through this form of reproduction.

Authenticity The authenticity of a product is seen through its history A reproduced product no longer has that history from the original and therefore, its authenticity is lost and becomes depreciated. People value authenticity which becomes part of the art culture.

The Aura in a Work of Art The Aura in a piece of art represents the unique existence that brings this tradition to the beholder. This unique existence get substitute for large quantities of the reproduce work in which its aura is lost. This changes the human perception of existence.

Decay of Aura As Benjamin states the desire to “bring things closer,” we desire to break the distance from within aura the object presents. We overcome this uniqueness of the aura by accepting this reproduction system that we desire for. This is the decay of the aura felt through art.

Art as a Ritual Function The uniqueness of a work of art becomes part of a tradition that is changeable overtime The traditional context of one civilization can view it as a cult object while another group later in history can view it as a ritual piece. In both cases, its uniqueness is confronted.

Cult Value and Exhibition Value A piece of art has two different values, its cult and exhibition value. The cult value is the very existence of the piece. The exhibition value is when the piece of art only matter when its being view.

Evolution of Photography Photography has lost its cult value over time, the only remaining cult value for photography are the photographs of love ones, dead or from long distances. Photography becomes as a tool for evidence in crimes and for historical facts.

From Photography to Film as Art Photography in its self became part of a consideration as to whether it was regarded as a form of art. Film however was asked the same question, but it was much more difficult for it to be accepted.

Actor’s Role An actor on a stage gives this artistic performance to the audience in person. An actor for the camera does not become the object of the art, but rather the camera instead. The actor’s identification now belongs to the camera, as the performance is presented through the camera.

Film is the Future of Art The equipment use for films becomes part of the production for the creation of art. - The aura is no longer there as it is easily reproduced and manipulated. - Film becomes larger than life.

Final Thoughts Walter Benjamin argues how over time, art evolves into different mediums yet at the same time many of its important elements get lost over time. The introduction of reproduction becomes the norm for today’s society, and its aura becomes lost to the cult.

The End