To be perfectly honest, Benjamin\u2019s words are just as dry and difficult to read now as they were over a year ago when I had to read them for my Introduction to Critical Theory course, but I digress.<\/p>\n
The Industrial Revolution brought with it new ways of mechanically reproducing art.\u00a0 <\/span>Among these were engraving, etching, and lithography.\u00a0 T<\/span>hese processes allowed for infinite reproduction of work.\u00a0 <\/span>If you wanted an etching from an artist in Chicago but were located in New York, all you needed to do was order one and he could have a copy made for you.\u00a0 <\/span>In the early-to-mid 19th<\/sup> Century, research finally brought concepts from many centuries of fundamental knowledge together in order to create a process that could record a work of art exactly as it appeared in reality.<\/p>\n That process, of course, is modern photography.\u00a0 <\/span>With one negative, countless prints of an image can be made.\u00a0 <\/span>This ability resulted in a world in which, theoretically, there exists no original creation in terms of the medium.\u00a0 <\/span>The still (and later video) camera merely records a scene onto a substrate coated with a medium.\u00a0 <\/span>The scene itself is the original; the photograph is the mechanical reproduction of that scene.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n As I understand Benjamin’s text, what separates an original artwork from a copy is the original’s presence in time and space.\u00a0 The Great Pyramid only physically exists at Giza in Egypt.\u00a0 The Alamo exists only in San Antonio, TX.\u00a0 The mountains photographed by Ansel Adams only physically exist at the various locations in the American West.\u00a0 An NFL game only exists for the prescribed time span at the prescribed location of the event.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Consider the wonder and awe you may have felt the first time you saw something in reality that you previously had only seen in a photograph or video.\u00a0 <\/span>I felt awe upon seeing many landmarks that at one time only existed as photographs and videos in books and on television.\u00a0 <\/span>These include the pyramids at Giza, the Sphinx, the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building, my first time seeing the F-15E Strike Eagle, and even my first NFL game live at the Houston Astrodome in 1996 (Houston Oilers vs San Francisco 49ers – the 49ers won).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This sense of awe and wonder at seeing an original work in its prescribed presence in space and time are what make up a work’s “aura.”<\/p>\n According to Benjamin, the aura of an original can only exist because of the fact that an original can be reproduced mechanically.\u00a0 <\/span>In other words, an original can only exist because it can be reproduced.\u00a0 The original and the copy cannot be be separated.\u00a0 <\/span>This concept is key to understanding what Benjamin had to say.\u00a0 <\/span>This may seem paradoxical, but in my experience this makes perfect sense.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n I consider those places where photography is not allowed such as The Alamo.\u00a0 <\/span>No mechanical reproduction is (legally) possible inside the Alamo.\u00a0 <\/span>When I first visited the location in 1991 (part of my town pass from USAF basic training), I really didn\u2019t find anything over which I could get excited.\u00a0 <\/span>I knew the history of the mission, the Texas Revolution, and those famous historical figures who died fighting there.\u00a0 Armed with this knowledge, I anticipated an experience that I would not soon forget.\u00a0 At the end of my visit, however, I left the Alamo asking myself what all the fuss was about.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n (<\/span>Disclaimer \u2013 I grew up in Central NY State, about 20 miles from Cortland, NY and can remember learning about The Alamo each year in history class and wanting to visit it someday.)<\/p>\n Let’s contrast my experience with The Alamo to experience of seeing the Great Pyramid at Giza in 1993.\u00a0 <\/span>Up to that point in my life, the Great Pyramid (and anything at all to do with ancient Egypt) existed as a photograph in my history texts. \u00a0Upon seeing it live and in person, however, I felt an awe in the presence of history that I didn\u2019t feel at the Alamo.<\/p>\n Mechanical reproduction allows a work of art to be liberated by the constraints of space and time.\u00a0 <\/span>Not everyone has an opportunity to travel to Giza, China, France, Washington, DC, etc in order to view the original works.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Reproduction brings the art to the viewer\u2019s home so he or she can view it at their convenience.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
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