Jesse Papineau - Technological Reproduction

I read The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility which helped to clarify many of Walter Benjamin's ideas for me. Benjamin states that art that is seen without the aid of photography or film has a sort of ambiance to it that is somewhat lost in translation. However, a photograph is most often the art itself, not what is being shot. For example, many 'artists' have taken pictures of garbage using various lighting techniques and unique camera angles that can make up a rather original work of art, yet the garbage is just that – garbage. It's interesting to read someone's hesitations about two art forms that have been around for so long. Just as we discuss the artistic merit of viral videos and Twitter feeds, Walter Benjamin was challenging his generation's technological advances, only to come to the realization that they are here to stay.