Are we Aura-ite?

Aura can best be described as the history and historical value behind an event or an item. As Benjamin points out, "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."[1] There are two things that can have "aura" - material things and events. For material things- aura can be something like "the physical condition over the years" and "the various changes in ownership"[2]. The value of the item increases because it has been through a certain history - had a certain experience, an experience of value. For events - the aura of the event is the actual historical value behind the event - the people there, it's importance in history, the feelings the event made you feel when you were there. With the cyber involved, it is really easy to convey the aura of an event - with video or pictures or even words in a blog like this one. While the aura is not the same as the aura of the actual event, it allows people from all over the world to experience a piece of the aura.

Let's take the example of the demolition of the Berlin wall. If a person was at the demolition of the wall and got a piece of the wall, this piece has a certain aura - a certain worth that is almost "priceless", a worth that is a part of history for sure. While another person can take a piece of wall from any building and make it look like the piece from the first person. This piece may look completely similar - but it does not have the aura of the original piece. Similarly, a person who was there to witness the knocking down of the wall by protesters would have felt an "aura" that someone who saw a video tape or read about it in a history book could never have.

[1] Walter, Benjamin. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. pg 220

[2][Walter, Benjamin. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. pg.222