WALTER BENJAMIN ET AL --> :: GROUP 1 - Bastien, Etienne, Jonathan Kebe, Brent, Jason, Mohannad
Walter Benjamin tells us about the perception of works of art by the people before the “Mechanical Reproduction”. He introduces the concept of “aura” which is the uniqueness that is given off by an original work; that is before the mechanical reproduction. Originated from the Greek word 'aer', the term aura describes the "distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with someone or something".
Before works were printed by the hundreds, and seen by everybody in magazines immediately and so easily, what made the aura what it is, is the fact that people would go through the trouble of finding the work, whether in the country or not, to finally appreciate it. The anticipation of seeing a work of art, and knowing that it is the only one made, which can only be found in one place at a certain time is what makes this work of art even more unique.
The aura of artworks is decaying, an example of his theory is supported with a newer art like photography, he argues that personal photographs cannot have aura as it's "subject matter forbids it.” The photographic image is resistant to accumulated associations because it presents the past only as the past. They do not present the “time and space” that a previous works of arts presented. They are just witnesses of past actions and situations, they serve as memory, not as history.
Art now is viewed as a simple good that is being fed to you; all new arts like big production movies look alike because they follow similar patterns. Artists are now producers of commodities.
The type of work students are exploring in Concordia University's Computation Arts program has no significance to the loss of aura as the original does not exist. It's availability of infinite reproducibility in time and space, and the physical closeness the mainstream art form projects to the user, clearly signifies their rejection towards traditional modernist mediums. "From a photographic negative, for example, one canmake any number of prints; to ask for the "authentic" print makes no sense"(53)
This leads to the next text, where Adorno and Horkheimer discuss their vision on what they call the “Culture Industry”. They believe that the mass is manipulated into passivity by factories because of the production of standardized cultural goods, which they call the popular culture. The popular culture is a very clever name for the manipulation of the masses. People don’t like too much to be seen as different from others, therefore, whoever wants to make money makes sure that everybody susceptible of buying their product feel alike and connected. But this is marketing….To get back to what A&H are saying, people loose their identity and individual taste, they are being told what they like and they consume what is given to them repeatedly through commercials until they convince themselves they like it. What is given to them is what the industry can produce. What is being produced is a basic good which gives an easy pleasure, a false need; needs created and satisfied by capitalism. A&H say that our true needs are freedom, creativity and genuine happiness. The mass market is compared as the mass production, the people are as interchangeable as the products themselves.
“ Anyone who resists can only survive by fitting. Once his particular brand of deviation from the norm has been noted by the industry.”
This is how the industry evolves, by telling the mass market what to do, they control the flow of people their way in order to keep them in check constantly, to make sure they will buy so much and keep buying regularly.
Before works were printed by the hundreds, and seen by everybody in magazines immediately and so easily, what made the aura what it is, is the fact that people would go through the trouble of finding the work, whether in the country or not, to finally appreciate it. The anticipation of seeing a work of art, and knowing that it is the only one made, which can only be found in one place at a certain time is what makes this work of art even more unique.
The aura of artworks is decaying, an example of his theory is supported with a newer art like photography, he argues that personal photographs cannot have aura as it's "subject matter forbids it.” The photographic image is resistant to accumulated associations because it presents the past only as the past. They do not present the “time and space” that a previous works of arts presented. They are just witnesses of past actions and situations, they serve as memory, not as history.
Art now is viewed as a simple good that is being fed to you; all new arts like big production movies look alike because they follow similar patterns. Artists are now producers of commodities.
The type of work students are exploring in Concordia University's Computation Arts program has no significance to the loss of aura as the original does not exist. It's availability of infinite reproducibility in time and space, and the physical closeness the mainstream art form projects to the user, clearly signifies their rejection towards traditional modernist mediums. "From a photographic negative, for example, one canmake any number of prints; to ask for the "authentic" print makes no sense"(53)
This leads to the next text, where Adorno and Horkheimer discuss their vision on what they call the “Culture Industry”. They believe that the mass is manipulated into passivity by factories because of the production of standardized cultural goods, which they call the popular culture. The popular culture is a very clever name for the manipulation of the masses. People don’t like too much to be seen as different from others, therefore, whoever wants to make money makes sure that everybody susceptible of buying their product feel alike and connected. But this is marketing….To get back to what A&H are saying, people loose their identity and individual taste, they are being told what they like and they consume what is given to them repeatedly through commercials until they convince themselves they like it. What is given to them is what the industry can produce. What is being produced is a basic good which gives an easy pleasure, a false need; needs created and satisfied by capitalism. A&H say that our true needs are freedom, creativity and genuine happiness. The mass market is compared as the mass production, the people are as interchangeable as the products themselves.
“ Anyone who resists can only survive by fitting. Once his particular brand of deviation from the norm has been noted by the industry.”
This is how the industry evolves, by telling the mass market what to do, they control the flow of people their way in order to keep them in check constantly, to make sure they will buy so much and keep buying regularly.
posted by Jonathan Kebe at 11:26 PM
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