Week3 - Mechanization (Robotics) and Art – Flora Huo

      

     In The Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, written by Walter Benjamin, he believes that the aura has disappeared from the works of art in the era of mechanical reproduction, because the characteristics of "mass production" make the works lack authenticity: that is, the uniqueness and the eternal value of the presence, the characteristics of the work of art are transformed from the uniqueness of their original activities into reliability (Eiland&Jennings). After the loss of aura, the value of artistic works for religious purposes is greatly reduced, but relative to the loss of cult value, it also reveals its unprecedented exhibition value. The changes in the means of mechanical reproduction have allowed the objects receiving the work of art to reach the level of tactile receiving due to the reduction of the natural sense of distance (Thacker, 2020). At the same time, the masses have been transformed from the objects of viewing works of art to the subjects who are rich in the possibilities in creating creative works of art: the creation of works of art through mechanical reproduction does not require technical experience and professional training, but only needs to have an artistic concept to complete it.




        On the other hand, due to the different creation styles of art in the era of mechanical reproduction, it is not only liberating the "artist's hands", but also drags art appreciation from temples to the streets. Verified by the detection effect, art viewers' experience changed from concentration to recreational acceptance, changing the function of art from "requiring the public to think carefully" to "serving the recreational needs of the public".
https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=history_of_book


        All in all, mechanization helped people to have the access to art more easily but changed the original purpose of art. 


References

BBC. (1960, December 11). The Reith Lectures, Edgar Wind - art and anarchy, the mechanization of art. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hbd16

Benjamin, W. (1935). The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction - MIT. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/benjamin.pdf

Eiland, H., & Jennings, M. W. (n.d.). Walter Benjamin: "A contradictory and mobile whole". Walter Benjamin: "A Contradictory and Mobile Whole" | Harvard University Press. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/walter-benjamin.htmlbru

Renauld, M. M. (2020, October 25). The effects of the Industrial Revolution vs. Arts & Crafts Movement. TheCollector. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.thecollector.com/industrial-revolution-arts-and-crafts/

Thacker, A. (2020, April 27). The effect of mechanical reproduction on art: Benjamin and blow-up. Diggit Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://www.diggitmagazine.com/blog/effect-mechanical-reproduction-art-benjamin-and-blow

Comments

  1. Jonathan ChenApril 16, 2022 at 6:04 PM

    Hello Flora,

    Your explanation of Walter Benjamin's perspective on mechanization was very informative and provided the necessary context for the rest of your blog. I definitely agree with your perspective that the advent of machines has allowed art to be more widely accessible to the common people, which is something that I did not really consider when writing my blog. Thank you for sharing such an insightful idea!

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