WALTER BENJAMIN The Decay of Aura by Diane

WALTER BENJAMIN & The Decay of Aura by Diane Rarick

t literary critic is rx a M a s a w in m ja Walter Ben ay “The Work of Art ss e r la u p o p st o m whose ical Reproduction” n a h c e M f o e g A e in th een art and tw e b n io ct e n n o c e examined th technology. His theory is tha t aura is a “stran ge web of space and time” or “a distance as close as it can be. ” Aura is associated with the traditional, nostalgic notion s of artwork and is lost with the onset of photog raphy.

ugh its rtrayed thro o p s i k r o f artw The aura o and space e im t n i e c presen A sense o f aw unique exis e is perceived from its tence at th e place wh happens t ere it o be.

Aura implies au thenticity but th ere is no authenticity with out its destructio n in mechanical reproducibility. C onfronted with i ts manual reproduction the original preserv ed all its authority.

The unique ness of a w ork of inseparable from its be art is ing imbedd the fabric o ed in f tradition. The destruction of aura in mechanical reproduction signals the passage from the artwork as cult to the artwork as exhibit.

With the emancipatio n of the various art practices from ritual g o increasing opportunities for the exhibition of their p roducts. t the copy u p n a c n o ti c u rod Technical rep s which n o ti a u it s to in of the original th r o f h c a re f o would be out itself.

ses desire to bring The contemporary mas anly, while um h nd a lly ia at sp r se lo things c y accepting its b ed ct je re is ss ne ue uniq reproduction. Breaking the distance is widely accep ted & favored

Photographs are infinitely reproducible and are detached from the aura of the original. easure of m e m o s d ance hs retaine n p e a t r n g u o o t c o h n Early p the huma n o jects, g b u in s s u r c e o h f t o y aura b hy took on p a r g o t o h – but as p lue for a v n o the t io y it t i ib r h o i x r e e “the ws its sup o h s e im t t the firs. ” ritual value

The instant the criterion of authentic ceases to be ity applicable t o artistic production, the total fun ction of art is reversed. The work of art becomes designed for reproducibility.

The artistic performan ce of a sta presented t ge actor is o the public by the acto person; the r in actors aur a is presen t. sn't whole, it i e c n a rm o rf e p A film actor’s es and camera k ta l ra e v e s n i e is don ection to the n n o c e h T. s le g an by a camera. d te n e s re p s i e c audien

n artificial a h it w a r u a hriveling of s e h t o t s d n the studio. e id ts u o y Film respo t li e persona build-up of th The movie star is bor n to promote the art of film