Originality vs. Reproduction: The Role Aura Plays in Media Today

Elizabeth Novotny

February 16, 2010

Media 280

Originality vs. Reproduction

The Role Aura Plays in Media Today

In his essay entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin discusses the importance of aura and how it relates to media, specifically the popular culture of the modern world.

In an age of mechanical reproduction, the authenticity of an original work of art is lost when it is reproduced.  Nevertheless, I believe the reproduction of art comes with its own feeling of authenticity.  In its reproduction, the art work is given a new aura different from that of the original.  According to Benjamin, “[t]he presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.”  Benjamin argues that authenticity is derived from originality.  Furthermore, he suggests, “[e]ven the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element:  its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.”  Although there is validity to this, such an idea is debatable.  The counter argument would state that the reproduced work of art is not “lacking in one element,” but rather it simply possesses a “unique existence […]” different from that of the original.

In his essay on the reproducibility of art, Benjamin concludes that an original work of art possesses a certain aura.  The aura a work of art possesses is what differentiates the original from the reproduced.  According to Benjamin, the aura of originality is what brings authenticity to artwork.  Benjamin suggests that authenticity is established through originality.  Original art work is authentic because of the history of the artwork itself.  The experience the original artist had when creating his work of art is impossible to recreate.  The feelings and emotions that were felt by the original artist can never be felt in exactly the same way by another artist.  Therefore, the authenticity of an original work of art is impossible to reproduce.  In addition, Benjamin later proposes, “[…] that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.”  One may conclude the aura of an original work of art is impossible to reproduce.

Although the authenticity of an original work of art is lost when it is reproduced, I believe the reproduction of art comes with its own feeling of authenticity and gives off its own particular aura different from that of the original.  Such an example would be the reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci’s notorious painting of the Mona Lisa.  When various other artists reproduce the Mona Lisa, it is created with feelings and emotions different from those felt by da Vinci, giving it a new experience in its creation.  The history of the reproduced art is different as well.  The reproduction of the Mona Lisa is therefore given a new aura, making it authentic in its own way.  If one were to view the original Mona Lisa in Paris, then perhaps that experience would be more powerful and moving than, say, viewing a reproduced Mona Lisa. That is not to say, however, that both paintings were not authentically created. (http://sarahkatt.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/original.jpg)

Benjamin’s concept of aura plays a significant role in today’s media, specifically the popular culture of the modern world.  Film, photography and the computer are three different forms of media in particular that have altered the meaning of images in numerous ways.  The introduction of film, for instance, enabled plays to be transformed into movies.  The creation of cinema allowed audiences everywhere to view what was once only available as a live performance.  Unlike theater, film allows the director to manipulate the audience into seeing only what he wants it to see, giving the film an aura different from that of the play.  The introduction of photography allowed artists to capture a moment in time and space objectively, rather than painting it subjectively.  A photo is ultimately given a feeling of truthfulness and, with that, comes an aura different from that of a painting.  The introduction of the computer has allowed for nearly anyone to post videos and opinions for people around the world to view and/or critique.  Perhaps the best example of this is YouTube.  In addition, machinima is another medium that has without a doubt its own aura.  Machinima is defined as animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3D environment.  More simply, machinima is making films from video games.  Producers of machinima take footage that is not theirs, however they make it their own by using it to create completely new forms of art, giving it a new aura.

Benjamin argues that “a work of art has always been reproducible.”  In his essay he later proposes, “[m]echanical reproduction of a work of art […] represents something new.”  Art in various forms has been reproduced since the beginning of time.  Benjamin states, “[a]round 1900 technical reproduction had reached a standard that not only permitted it to reproduce all transmitted works of art and thus to cause the most profound change in their impact upon the public; it also had captured a place of its own among the artistic processes.”  Perhaps it can be concluded that Benjamin does not clearly establish the creative line that exists between an original work of art and the reproduction of it.