What is aura?

Aura is an atmosphere generated by a value of certain object, person or place.

In terms of art works, for example, people tend to feel the aura toward certain qualities associated with art works, such as uniqueness and authenticity. [1]  This is what museum-goers might experience in front of notable paintings.

Aura can also be defined as “the unique phenomenon of distance”.[2] This might be the reason why “here and now”, the closeness of space and time, is important. [3] A live concert seems to provide more excitement than a video of the same concert on you tube, because people value how close their distance is, in this case, toward singers or performers.

In cyber space, infinite number of reproduction of art works becomes possible. As a result, culture started to be consumed and “infect everything with sameness”. [4]   This causes, according to Benjamin, “contemporary decay of aura”. [5]  

Benjamin says that “during long period of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence.” [6] Since an aura always reflects what is valued in the society, a receiver has to play a big role in what object, person or place has a certain degree of aura. Since the cyberspace is becoming major in exchanging information, it must have influence on how aura is perceived now and in the future.

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[1] Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in Illuminations, ed. Hannah Arendt (New York: Schocken Books, 1968), p. 224.

[2] Benjamin,Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in Illuminations, ed. Hannah Arendt (New York: Schocken Books, 1968), p.222.

[3]Fisher, Annemaria. COLI321. Binghamton University, 2010. Lecture.

[4] Adorno, Theodor. Dialect of Enlightenment: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception". California: Stanford University Press. p. 99.

[5]Benjamin,Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in Illuminations, ed. Hannah Arendt (New York: Schocken Books, 1968), p. 223.

[6] Benjamin,Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in Illuminations, ed. Hannah Arendt (New York: Schocken Books, 1968), p. 222.

Takane Kobayashi