“The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin

Governmental bodies do not change overnight but there was an insight that fascist system was not going to be the winner of the race even before the war. Benjamin then mentions that art about the proletariat after its assumption of power would be useless compared to the developmental tendencies of art under present conditions of production, because the former has not yet been accomplished it is not as relevant to the current political situation. With these comments, I believe this writing to be centered in the power of art and how it must keep current in the ever-changing condition of politics.

Great works of art are produced because the artist has something to say about their current surroundings, albeit political, environmental, etc. An artistic reproduction can only touch on the technical aspects of the work it is trying to replicate. Its place in time has changed and therefore does not have the historical relevance of the original and its aura will be compromised.

The aura is something that a piece of art carries with it because of the deeper context to which it speaks or simply because of the temporal beauty that it touches upon. Benjamin believes that contemporary masses have lost the aura in their attempt to grab hold of all desired objects, originals or reproduction. In film the fact that there is a mediator between the audience and the actor diminishes the possibility of an aura felt by the viewer. This process destroys the unique aura of the great work by making a reproduction available. The blame here is put on the mass ideology of the universal equality of things, the proletariat?

In the debate of value between a painting and a photo there are very important topics. The fact that there is a debate is the interesting thing. Epochs in time have different realities and in the twentieth century the photograph has no less significance than a fresco of the seventh century due to its cultural significance. The current epoch is far too rapid to have frescos be the primary form of artistic documentation. This technological time is calling for a light speed device to carry over the thoughts of today’s artist.

“The sight of immediate reality has become an orchid in the land of technology.”

“AS WE MAY THINK” by Vannevar Bush

The connection between important publications being as elementary as the square ships means that the information was beginning to surpass the ability to render it all with the modern convention means. This paved the way for the unlimited “memex” (common pc). Bush recognized that there is infinite data out there and that it needs to be easily obtained and linked together in order to advance knowledge. His ideas are just like the open source site, wikipedia (bogus), and the search engine google have offered the users.

The scientists have developed a very comfortable place for us humans to sit back and inconsequentially critique our surroundings. Bush has foreseen the time at which there will be so much information that we simply need to go back (electronically) to recall past realizations or facts and to leave the memory open for topics most relevant to now.