In “The Work of Art”, Walter Benjamin argues about the arrival of digitization affecting the reproduction of art in the modern society. He gives a lot of importance to the technique of film and how it has brought a whole new sense to the concept of artwork. He insists on the fact that films and other digital techniques have opened a new door to the mass production of artworks around the world. For this, he compares the natural distance between a painter and a cameraman with the one who is the closest to reality in its functions. The digitization restrains the viewer from the time and space relationship he could have with the art. Benjamin calls this relationship : the aura. Therefore, it’s even worse with films since the viewer is forced to watch it from a single perspective instead of having fully control of its views and reflections.
The authenticity of a work of art has its basis in its cult value. Technical reproduction of an artwork pushes its cult value and liquidates it for its exhibition value. Cultural items, like a crucifix, once represented the trust, the faith and the protection of god on you. But with times, they became a symbol of wealth and the more valuable it looked, the more important the possessor became. Benjamin scores a point when he says that the reproduction of art is affecting the uniqueness of natural artworks. The craft and human touch cannot be reproduced by machinery, thus leading to the loss of authenticity in the art process. Like films, you lose the aura of the actor by seeing too much images at the same time. You can not process all of the information presented on time, which reduces the cult value of the shock effect.
How can we separate media that has a shock effect on us from analogue art forms?
Dana Ryashy, Sol Paul, Xavier Champoux, Rose-Marie Dion
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