The “aura” is the authenticity that comes with an original piece of art. Today, the aura of art and creativity is being maintained by the culture industry, but at the same time, it is being diminished by the cyber industry.
A piece of art is original at the time that it is created. Art is created with feeling and emotion, and that is the aura that is involved in it. Years ago, before it was easy to duplicate a piece of art, the aura of that art was still intact. The aura holds the authenticity and feeling that is visible through a painting. It holds perfections, imperfections, and original signatures. The culture industry does its best to maintain this aura. Museums deem artwork to be sacred. They put such pieces on display for all to see and appreciate, and they take merely a donation from visitors, as there is no price for the feelings that authentic art portrays. The culture industry does a great job at showcasing original art at its finest, but it is the cyber industry that is destroying these feelings.
With the constant evolution of technology, absolutely anything is available to the public. The simple task of typing a term into Google enables our society to have access to anything desired. This accessibility is slowly but surely depleting the authenticity of art and culture. Benjamin states that “even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin 220). A piece that is duplicated is no longer unique, causing its value to deplete. It can be seen and purchased by all. Absolutely any piece of art is capable of being duplicated and sold at an inexpensive price, but with this comes the elimination of imperfections and the traits that make art as special as it should be.
Benjamin goes on to say that “the situations into which the product of mechanical reproduction can be brought many not touch the actual work of art, yet the quality of its presence is always depreciated” (221). His statement expresses the quality of the “aura” is constantly being marred by the capabilities of the cyber industry. The “aura” is special and hard to come by. With the growth of the cyber industry, this unique quality of art is depleting and relying merely on the culture industry to keep such qualities intact.
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. Print.
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