For ARIN6903, Exploring Digital Cultures, MDCC, The University of Sydney.

1. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1935)Walter Benjamin ARIN6903 César Albarrán Torres

2. Works of art have always been reproducible (replicas for training, diffusing work and monetary gain), but mechanical reproduction is new. Lithography: new stage as it enabled graphic art to illustrate everyday life. Reproduction acquires place of its own in artistic process. Warhol, Posadas and others understood this.

3. The many faces of Monalisa

4. What a reproduction lacks… Presence in time and space (how do we define these in the 21st century)? History of ownership and physical condition. Authenticity: “The whole sphere of authenticity is outside technical– and of course, not only technical.” (Benjamin, 1935: 214) The quality of the presence and the historical testimony of a work of art is depreciated.

5. Where does digital reproduction fit? “Process reproduction is more independent of the original than manual reproduction.” (Ibidem) “[…] technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself.” (Ibidem)

6. Did Michelangelo intend this?

7. Aura “[…] that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.” (Benjamin, 1935: 215) Aura: “uniqueness of a work of art”, “inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition”. A work of art is never separated from its “ritual function”.

8. Aura: a psychotic example

9. Resonance in the digital age “It is easier to exhibit a portrait bust that can be sent here and there than to exhibit a statue of a divinity that has its fixed place in the interior of a temple.” (219) “In photography, exhibition value begins to displace cult value all along the line.”(Ibidem) Film actor: “His creation is by no means all of a piece, it is composed of many different performances.” (Ibidem)

10. Resonance in the digital age “Thus, the distinction between author and public is about to lose its basic character […] the reader gains access to authorship.” (Benjamin, 1935) Produsage(2008): “Users who participate in […] processes of massively parallelized and decentralized creativity and innovation in myriads of enthusiast communities do no longer produce content, ideas, and knowledge in a way that resembles traditional, industrial modes of production” (Bruns, 2008) For extended, updated information visit: www.produsage.org

11. Massive simultaneous reception “Simultaneous collective experience” Benjamin identified in film, multiplied by X factor in the Internet. www.fat-pie.comFlash animations by David Firth, reproduction part of aura.

12. Original? What is the original work of art in digital creations? Does the aura still exist?