Walter Benjamin and the Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin's claim to philosophic immortality rests primarily upon his groundbreaking essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." In this essay Walter Benjamin asserts a theory that claims that the rise of easily reproducible artwork leads to that artwork losing its traditional ritual meaning. Art loses its meaning as ritual through the loss it aura, or authenticity. What Benjamin means by aura is the work of art's aesthetic value gained through its uniqueness. Before the ability of reproduce art, the value was instilled into it because it was the only one of its kind. Think of the difference between someone who has always heard of the Mona Lisa but never seen it reproduced and those of us who have seen literally thousands of reproductions. Surely, seeing the real thing is going to be a much more profound experience for someone not acquainted with Da Vinci's masterpiece through reproductions.

Also important in the understanding of aura is the idea of distance. The ritualistic value of a work of art is also instilled by it being at a distance from us. This distance isn't simply geographical, of course. Consider something like the Pyramids. Obviously, it is far more difficult to reproduce the pyramids than the Mona Lisa, but both are distanced from us in the sense of their having a meaning beyond simply paint and stones. They have been invested with a meaning beyond the purely physical so that exist also on a metaphysical plane. Even if you've never seen the pyramids, you know this sense. That intangible quality to a structure that at its core is, really, just a bunch of a stone is what Benjamin is getting at when he talks about ritual.