What is Walter Benjamin's theory of mechanical reproduction?
My essay, 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,' posits that technologies like photography and film diminish the 'aura' of a unique artwork. This aura, tied to its history and authenticity, is lost when an artwork can be endlessly duplicated. However, I also saw this loss as potentially liberating, opening art to new forms of political and social engagement, moving it from ritualistic to political function.
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