Friday 1 April 2011

Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Reference to:

Benjamin, W. (1936) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung.

After reading the essay (translated into English, of course) as part of the core reading for this module, there was one paragraph that really stood out for me.

"Even 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. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence. This includes the changes which it may have suffered in physical condition over the years as well as the various changes in its ownership."

It is really quite remarkable, just how much a piece of artwork is worth in its original form.

Because of the ease in modern society with which works of art can be replicated and reproduced, the value of the original piece is significantly boosted. Mostly thanks to educational trips throughout my time at school and college, I have been to many different Art Galleries and seen original pieces strung up in all their glory, taking pride of place on the walls of ancient buildings. Free for everyone to admire from afar - staring in through glass cases or leaning over rope-barriers.

And these pieces of art are so heavily guarded - night and day. The older the piece, the greater the security. An awful lot of money goes towards installing state-of-the-art security equipment and there are nightwatchmen to guard the building out-of-hours. All due to the fact the pieces inside the building are originals. They are the truest, realest versions. Real paint, real canvas, real pencil, real crayon, real clay or stone or metal or ice or whatever is used to sculpt, these days.

It is fair enough to say that, outside those buildings, there will be an unlimited number of copies. All illegimate, all fake, but all looking damn-near exactly the same - and people wouldn't pay even a tenth of the price for those as the originals cost. So, for all intents and purposes, you can get a piece of priceless artwork for tuppence and hang it on your wall at home to admire it - rather than trekking nationwide to glance for a minute at the original through a glass box before being hurried along by rushing tour-guides.

The problem is, the copy might look exactly the same - right down to the tiniest of brush-strokes - but it isn't the original. The value instantly vanishes; the exact same piece of work is suddenly effectively worthless, not priceless.

So here, you weigh up worth in terms of physical monetry value against the knowledge of owning a duplicate version that is easily accessible. Would you rather have that version there, despite its lack of payout upon resale, or are you willing to pay bus / train / taxi / plane-fair to get to the only Gallery that houses your particular artwork piece ??

Walter Benjamin is right - there is nothing quite like the original. There never will be. But unfortunately, accessing the original format of anything nowadays is virtually impossible. The age of mechanical reproduction is a god-send for people who want to access artistic pieces but would otherwise not have had a chance, because they, at least, can still enjoy looking at the piece despite it being a duplicate of the original. Of course, if you're a multi-billionaire and can afford to buy out the museum / gallery housing your favourite exhibit... well, you don't need to worry. You're the luckiest person alive, because you have the one piece that people will pay millions for. But for the rest of us, duplicates keep us in the cultural loop. And I, for one, am happy about this.

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