Walter Benjamin and Aura: "The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility" Part 1

Film & Media Studies

18 Jan 202122:47

EducationalLearning

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TLDRThe lecture analyzes Walter Benjamin's influential essay 'The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility,' situating it within the Frankfurt School's critique of capitalism and mass media. It examines Benjamin's concept of 'aura,' the uniqueness and authenticity of an original work of art, which decays as art is technologically reproduced. Benjamin sees this as liberating art from elitism and 'ritual.' He traces shifts in art from having religious/magical purposes to secular exhibitions accessible to mass audiences. Overall, he celebrates photography and film for withering the aura and democratizing art.

Takeaways

😊 Benjamin was part of the Frankfurt School, a Marxist intellectual tradition examining why Marxist social change was failing
😮 Benjamin argues that mass media and culture prevent people from understanding their exploitation, making change difficult
📷 Benjamin focuses on 19th century modernity - industrialization, urbanization, etc. - and how it transforms perception
🖼 Benjamin examines how technological reproducibility (esp. photography) changes the 'aura' of original artworks
😲 The aura - the unique presence of the original artwork - decays as reproductive technology democratizes art
🎥 For Benjamin, film has a special relationship with technological reproducibility
💡 The decay of the aura, while lamentable to some, is actually politically liberating for Benjamin
🙏 Throughout history, art has been bound up with and given value by ritual, tradition, and religion
😃 Technological reproducibility 'emancipates' art from this traditional context and value
🎞 Cinema plays a key role in moving art away from ritual/cult value and aura

Q & A

What is the Frankfurt School and what were some of their aims?
-The Frankfurt School refers to a group of Marxist intellectuals associated with the Institute for Social Research at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1930s. Some of their aims were: 1) To critique capitalism; 2) To critique Marxist-Leninism and examine why Marxist revolutions were failing; 3) To study mass culture to understand why capitalism was persisting despite Marx's predictions.
What does Benjamin mean by 'technological reproducibility'?
-By 'technological reproducibility', Benjamin is referring to the ability of technology like photography and film to easily reproduce works of art. This contrasts with traditional fine art like paintings which are singular original objects.
What does Benjamin mean by 'aura' and why does he believe it decays over history?
-For Benjamin, the 'aura' refers to the uniqueness and authenticity of a traditional work of art tied to its being in a particular place. He believes aura decays over history as methods of technological reproduction like photography detach art from its original context and enable the masses to experience replicas.
Why does Benjamin associate the aura with ritual and religion?
-Benjamin argues the aura and cult value of art throughout history are intertwined with religious and ritual significance, whether magical, sacred, or through the 'theology' of art for art's sake. Technological reproducibility emancipates art from this 'subservience to ritual'.
What does Benjamin mean when he says film is the art form most intimately bound up with technological reproducibility?
-Unlike traditional fine art like painting which retains an 'aura', film as an artistic medium depends completely on technological apparatuses for its production and exhibition. Film images can be infinitely reproduced and spread with ease.
What is the difference between 'cult value' and 'exhibition value' of art for Benjamin?
-'Cult value' refers to art that is restricted and exclusive in its access and visibility to elite groups. 'Exhibition value' refers to art that is accessible to mass audiences, like in public museums.
Why does Benjamin associate the loss of aura with the democratization of art?
-For Benjamin, the loss of aura through technological reproduction corresponds with art becoming less hierarchal and exclusive. Democratized art can circulate freely and be appreciated by mass audiences rather than remaining restricted to social elites.
What time period is Benjamin mainly concerned with in his analysis?
-While Benjamin refers to a broad history of art, he is primarily concerned with changes that emerged in conjunction with 19th century modernity brought on by innovations like industrialization and photography.
What does Benjamin mean when he says film reacted to photography with a 'theology of art'?
-Benjamin is suggesting that movements like 'art for art's sake' which proclaimed the self-purposefulness of art were religious in nature, defending art by sanctifying its status rather than through reason - much like a 'theology'.
Why does Benjamin associate aura with 'traditionalism'?
-Benjamin uses 'tradition' and related terms pejoratively to connote irrational appeals to ritualistic or religious thinking rather than reason or progress - the hallmarks of the aura in art for him.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Introducing Benjamin, the Frankfurt School, and key concepts

The first paragraph provides context by introducing Walter Benjamin and the Frankfurt School of Marxist thought in 1930s Germany. It outlines their critique of capitalism and Soviet communism, and their examination of why Marxist revolution failed, attributing it to mass media subverting economic forces of change. Key concepts like base/superstructure, commodity fetishism, and the historicity of perception are noted.

05:00

🎨 Tracking art from rituals to the aura and its decay

The second paragraph traces art from its origins in prehistoric rituals and magic, to religious veneration, to Renaissance secular beauty worship, showing how art has been tied to tradition and ritual. Benjamin sees the aura, art's uniqueness bound to context, as perpetuating this. But technological reproducibility, like photography, initiates the aura's decay.

10:08

📸 Losing the aura democratizes art appreciation

The third paragraph continues unpacking the aura using the example of the Mona Lisa's progression from cult value for elites to exhibition value in museums to endless reproduction. For Benjamin, losing the aura emancipates art from ritual and hierarchy, allowing more democratic art appreciation.

15:12

😈 The persistence of religious trappings of art

The fourth paragraph examines terms associated with the aura, arguing they evoke pre-Enlightenment traditionalism rather than reason. Despite modernity, there remains a religious ritualistic sense attached to art, even manifest in 19th century l'art pour l'art movements.

20:19

🎥 Film leads the way in emancipating art

The fifth paragraph concludes by highlighting Benjamin's view that film and cinematic modes of reproduction are most exemplary in freeing art from ritual and past constraints, closing with his quote that technological reproducibility emancipates art from ritual subservience.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡aura

The 'aura' refers to the uniqueness and authenticity of a work of art that is tied to its existence in a particular time and place. Benjamin argues that mechanical reproduction like photography and film diminish the aura of artworks by separating them from their original context. This relates to his broader theme about how technological changes in society transform human perception and experience. He provides examples like a mountain range retaining its aura when viewed directly in nature versus seeing many mediated representations of it that degrade the aura.

💡technological reproducibility

'Technological reproducibility' refers to the ability of new technologies like photography and film to mechanically reproduce images and works of art. This is central to Benjamin's argument about how these technologies erode the aura of authenticity in art and change how art is perceived and valued. He discusses the example of being able to reproduce many identical images of the Mona Lisa after the advent of photography.

💡democratization of art

The 'democratization of art' refers to art becoming more accessible to mass audiences instead of being restricted to wealthy elites. Benjamin argues that eroding the cult value of art through technological reproduction has a democratizing effect. He traces this from the Mona Lisa being privately owned to its exhibition in the Louvre museum to the distribution of its photographic reproductions.

💡cult value

'Cult value' refers to art accruing value and authority by being restricted to elite groups and venerated ritualistically almost like a religious cult object. Benjamin contrasts this with 'exhibition value' where art becomes democratized through mass reproduction. He argues that premodern art often had cult value as it was tied to ritual and religious worship before developing exhibition value through museums.

💡secular worship of beauty

Benjamin uses the phrase 'secular worship of beauty' to describe how Renaissance art was venerated for aesthetic beauty while being detached from overt religious ritual. However, he argues that this was still treating art in a quasi-religious manner. This ties to his critique of how various ideologies around art history elevate it to cult-like status.

💡doctrine of l'art pour l'art

The doctrine of 'l???art pour l???art' or 'art for art's sake' refers to the 19th century argument that art needs no external justification or purpose but is valuable entirely in itself. Benjamin critiques this as conferring a 'theology' to art that, like previous ideologies, ritualizes it by mystifying art as an end unto itself.

💡historicity of perception

The 'historicity of perception' means that modes of sensory experience and interpretation are historically contingent rather than constant. This relates to Benjamin's theme about how revolutions in technology and media transform human perception across history. The decay of the art aura through reproduction is one example of shifting historicity that he analyzes.

💡base and superstructure

In Marxist theory adopted by the Frankfurt School, the economic 'base' of society with its means of production shapes the ideological 'superstructure' of politics, culture, and ideas. Benjamin employs this framework to analyze how transformations in art relate to technological changes in the base conditions of production like new reproductive media.

💡Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School refers to the Marxist philosophers and scholars associated with the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany in the early 20th century. Benjamin situates his own work in this intellectual tradition known for critiquing capitalism and Marxist-Leninism through critical theory and analysis of mass culture like film.

💡decay of the aura

The 'decay of the aura' describes Benjamin's argument that the authenticity and tradition-rooted ritual value of art decays with the emergence of technologies like photography and film that reorient art to be technologically reproducible. He mainly treats this as a progressive political development that demystifies and democratizes art.

Highlights

Benjamin was part of the Frankfurt School, a Marxist intellectual tradition examining why Marxist social change was failing.

The growth of mass media makes it difficult for the evaporation of capitalism predicted by Marx to occur.

The aura is the unique existence of a work of art in a particular place. It withers with technological reproducibility.

Benjamin sees the loss of the aura as good - it is politically liberating.

The aura and related terms invoke traditionalism - appeals to tradition as the source of authority.

Early art served ritual purposes, not aesthetic appreciation as we know it.

Even Renaissance secular beauty worship displayed art's ritual basis.

19th century Art for Art's sake was like a theology of art.

Benjamin sees a historical shift from cult value to exhibition value to reproducibility.

Cult value manufactures exclusivity. Exhibition value democratizes art.

Reproduction emancipates art from ritual and cult value.

Film has a special relationship to technological reproducibility for Benjamin.

When Benjamin discusses reproducibility of art, he also means capitalist production.

The loss of aura relates to changing perception - a key idea for Benjamin.

Next we examine cinema's role in moving away from aura and ritual.

Transcripts

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