The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Production Notes

Theory born from the Frankfurt School - focussed on the thinking Benjamin Walter along with other graduates Adorno, Horkheimer and Marcuse.

The Frankfurt School was a hotbed of revolutionary and Marxist thought.

Benjamin Walter committed suicide whilst on the run from the Nazis in Spain, who persecuted Marxism and closed down the school.

Walter was displaying how technological advances (such as the invention of the modern printing press and early photographic capabilities) would change art.

The effect that copying and reproduction has on art - how do duplicates change the original work of art?

These accurate duplicates were a product of advancing technology - the ability to print a replica.



Lufthansa's use of the
Mona Lisa to sell flights
to Paris is a common form
of taking fine art in to
the realm of advertising
whilst cheaply
re-representing and
reproducing the original.

As it becomes more and more sophisticated the authority of the copy over the original work becomes more confused.

Reproduction removes the original's presence, authority and authenticity:

Aura - what makes the original seem special and of a higher authority.

Reproduction removes the domain of traditional - an important section of Walter's text.

The notion of copy + paste and the reblog button in the modern age - the impact this has on traditional museums and galleries.

The original's work is eroded - example such as Mona Lisa and its consumerist
 reproductions - its authority is therefore diminished.


Marilyn - Warhol

 The earliest art we know are based for us on ritual and cult - they are objects of magic and mystery - drawing on the idea of the aura.

Traditional art galleries and their stance as giant

church-esque buildings, using the significance of steps.

The shift of power between the classes through reproduction - Warhol (Marilyns).

Reproducibility -

New technologies allow us to challenge the power relations of culture and rearrange hierarchy, challenging traditionalist authority.

"Reblog" culture means that one
original piece of art can be copied
and posted across the web in
seconds, under the guise of
intelligent blogging.



The internet and the digital revolution - talking back to the previous controls of culture.

Art was always meant to be controlled and exclusive, but new technologies changed that forever.

Meaning can be produced at the point of consumption - and consumption is political.

Key concepts:

• Aura - myth and genius - distance
• Originality - exclusivity
• Cult value
• Exhibition value
• Auratic culture to democratic culture