A first read through Walter Benjamin’s essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, provided the essence of an aura. An individual experiencing such an essence of an a produced or natural work of art may incur such thoughts and feelings as “unique existence”, “authentic”, “presence in time and space”, “traditional”, “original”.
A second read considerably increased understanding of the “aura” concept, its historical circumstances, and its relation to society today. The purpose of Benjamin’s essay is political. He ends his introduction by writing, “The concepts which are introduced into the theory of art in what follows differ from the more familiar terms in that they are completely useless for the purposes of Fascism. They are, on the other hand, useful for the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art.”[1] Benjamin goes on to present that the medium through which art is transmitted to the masses has evolved to a point where the aura of art is decayed, it’s uniqueness diminished. “That which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art…the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence.”[2]
The problem with such a decay of the “aura” is Benjamin’s argument that new types of art coincide with a new kind of perception for society and that a new kind of perception leads to social transformations. Benjamin writes, “During long periods of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence. The manner in which human sense perception is organized, the medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well. The fifth century….there developed not only an art different form that of antiquity but also a new kind of perception…..social transformations expressed by these changes of perception.”[3] One should wonder what the mode of human sense perception was and what it has changed to today, especially if the aura of art has decayed. Benjamin writes that “the social bases of the contemporary decay of the aura…rests on two circumstances, both of which are related to the increasing significance of the masses in contemporary life. Namely, the desire of contemporary masses to bring things ‘closer’ spatially and humanly, which is just as ardent as their bent toward overcoming the uniqueness of every reality by accepting its reproduction. Every day the urge grows stronger to get hold of an object at very close range by way of its likeness, its reproduction.”[4] “To an even greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility. From a photographic negative, for example, one can make any number of prints; to ask for the ‘authentic’ print makes no sense. But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice – politics.”[5] This pointing towards politics by Benjamin is significant when one looks at the current “mode of human sense perception” through the lens of Theodor Adorno’s essay, The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. Both Benjamin and Adorno criticize film as an agent for deteriorating culture. Benjamin writes, “Their most powerful agent is the film. Its social significance, particularly in its most positive form, is inconceivable without its destructive, cathartic aspect, that is, the liquidation of the traditional value of the cultural heritage.”[6] Similarly, Adorno writes, “Culture today is infecting everything with sameness. Film, radio, and magazines form a system….all mass culture under monopoly is identical…films and radio no longer need to present themselves as art. The truth that they are nothing but business is used as an ideology to legitimize the trash they intentionally produce.”[7]
Throughout the rest of the essay, Adorno presents the basis for the current “mode of human sense perception”. The points he makes would be a good extension of my blog post on communication (http://globalmedianarratives.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-communication_8475.html) in which I present the danger of mass communication because of the few producers compared to the masses of receivers. Adorno writes, “Interested parties like to explain the culture industry in technological terms. Its millions of participants, they argue, demand reproduction process which inevitably lead to the use of standard products to meet the same needs at countless locations. The technical antithesis between few production centers and widely dispersed reception necessitates organization and planning by those in control….the basis on which technology is gaining power over society is the power of those whose economic position in society is strongest.”[8] What is worrisome is that cyberspace, which offers many ways to escape the culture industry, is increasingly becoming fragmented. Gateways are increasingly become powerful on the internet. A gateway referring to a website that one would go through for information. For example, google is a gateway to the web and facebook is a social gateway. Another trend in technology is the increase of media consumption by the receiver relative to an individual’s production of media. An example is the Ipad, which is increasingly popular but is a consumption device on a closed platform.
“The whole world is passed through the filter of the culture industry.”[9]
[1] Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in Illuminations, ed. Hannah Arendt (New York: Schocken Books, 1968) Pg.218
[2] Benjamin, pg. 221
[3] Benjamin, pg. 222
[4] Benjamin, pg. 223
[5] Benjamin, pg. 224
[6] Benjamin, pg. 221
[7] Adorno, Theodor. Dialect of Enlightenment: The Culture Industry: Enlightenment of Mass Deception". California: Stanford University Press.
p. 94-95
[8] Adorno p. 95
[9] Adorno p. 99
p. 99
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