what has become of "Aura" in the cyber age

The "Aura" of a piece of artwork or a landscape refers to the untangible connection that the viewer recieves while gazing that specific moment in time. While at that specific moment in time that piece of artwork or that landscape become the authority and creates a certain unique effect on each individual viewer. In many aspects, art has played a critical role throughout history as a portion of culture; the pieces of art that placed the biggest emphasis on "Aura" have become the ones most sought to as a pieces of human culture.

According the Benjamin's "Illuminations: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechincal Reproduction", Benjamin states that what jeopardizes a work of art's "Aura" is the ability of art itself to be reproduced.[1] The ability for a work of art to be reproduced is the key element in the loss of the work's "Aura" because the reproduction loses the presense in time and space that the oringal had. Benjamin even goes as far as stating that, " which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art".[2]

With the growth of technology the ability for reproduction has become more advanced and with the introduction of the internet, the ability for mass reproduction was able to take shape. Viewers of art are now able to see works from the comfort of their own homes, which creates its own "Aura", a cyber "Aura". The question is does the cyber "Aura" really lose the "Aura" and uniqueness from the original as Benjamin would suggest? The development of technology has always changed the ways in which people in the world have perceived things. The introduction of the photograph gave people the ability to perceive works of art that were not excessable to them. The cyber realm has only gone on to further this perception of art, but the "Aura" specific to each person is not lost, each new viewer of that specific piece still gains some sort of connection to the art. In the sense of the definition of "Aura" that connection to the viewer is not lost but rather the "Aura" has just changed. A reproduction to a viewer of art for the first time will connect to the viewer in the same capacity as the original because that viewer has the same perception of the reproduction as they would the original.

[1] Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1968. Print. p.218

[2] Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1968. Print. p.220-221