DESMA Week 3
Industrialization has shaped the
artistic world tremendously. Throughout the years, technology has developed and
will continue to flourish. The first printing press, as mentioned in professor
Vesna’s lecture videos, changed their society by creating blocks with words and
letters to use as their “printer”. As years progressed, the printing press
improved from the typewriter, and now to modern day printers where it is now
easier to print your work from a computer.
Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press
http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/a-primer-on-communication-studies/s15-01-technological-advances-from-th.html
Cameras are another factor that
industrialization has been improving as well. By capturing beautiful scenery,
historical monuments or places, and simply capturing everyday people, these can
turn out to be magnificent photographs to capture memories. However, there can
be some issues regarding printing photographs that you have taken from your
camera. In his book, “The Work of Art in
the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Walter Benjamin argues that taking an
image of an image lacks “aura” or as he defines it, originality. Taking a
picture of something lacks originality because it was already there beforehand and
can be reproduced. A painting, for example, is the direct opposite as Benjamin
claims. A painting is hand created and can be produced to fulfill whatever the
artist tends to create themselves, which is obviously an original piece and
does not strip away iconic artworks of their aesthetic authority.
The evolution of cameras
https://evansotchere1.wordpress.com/
etsy.com
An painting depicting originality.
Citations:
"Summary: The Work of Art in
The Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Introducing the Frankfurt School.
2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
<https://frankfurtschool.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/summary-the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/>.
Uconlineprogram. "Robotics
Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew>.
Uconlineprogram. "Robotics
Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk>.
Uconlineprogram. "Robotics
Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkP7oSZVkbg>.
"The Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction." - Modernism Lab Essays. Web. 18 Apr.
2016. <https://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_Mechanical_Reproduction>.
I really like your reference to Benjamin Walter regarding aura of authenticity. However, I disagree with him that a photograph lacks originality. I believe that a photograph does have rarity value. The world is continuously changing, however, that does not mean that people remember the moment a photograph captures. The photographs looks identical to the moment being captured, therefore they do have rarity value regardless of being reproducible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about any photo taken lacking originality, as anyone could go to the same location to reproduce the same shot you made. At the same time, however, I don't think anyone realizes a photo's aura of authenticity until later when the location of the photo is altered due to nature or humans interfering with the scene.
ReplyDelete