An analysis of Walter Benjamin's : The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction

"'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' combats traditional art criticism's treatment of artworks as fixed, unchanging mystical objects. For Walter Benjamin, the consequences of addressing a work of art in this manner have a wider resonance: closed off from any active visual or tactile engagement, the work of art becomes an object of passive contemplation and a potential tool of oppression. Benjamin argues that technology has fundamentally altered the way art is experienced. Potentially open to interpretation and accessible to many, art in the age of mechanical reproduction has the potential to be mobilized for radical purposes. While ostensibly addressing the artistic consequences of technical reproducibility on art, Benjamin also addresses the wider political consequences of this shift."--Back cover Cover 1 Title Page 2 Copyright Page 3 Table of Contents 4 WAYS IN TO THE TEXT 10 Who Was Walter Benjamin? 10 What Does “The Work of Art” Say? 11 Why Does “The Work of Art” Matter? 13 SECTION 1: INFLUENCES 15 Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 16 Module 2: Academic Context 21 Module 3: The Problem 26 Module 4: The Author’s Contribution 30 SECTION 2: IDEAS 34 Module 5: Main Ideas 35 Module 6: Secondary Ideas 40 Module 7: Achievement 45 Module 8: Place in the Author’s Work 50 SECTION 3: IMPACT 55 Module 9: The First Responses 56 Module 10: The Evolving Debate 61 Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 67 Module 12: Where Next? 72 Glossary of Terms 79 People Mentioned in the Text 94 Works Cited 101 The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction combats traditional art criticism's treatment of artworks as fixed, unchanging mystical objects. For Benjamin, a work of art closed off from any active visual or tactile engagement becomes an object of passive contemplation and a potential tool of oppression. He argues that technology has fundamentally altered the way art is experienced. Open to interpretation and accessible to many, art in the age of mechanical reproduction has the potential to be mobilized for radical purposes. While ostensibly addressing the artistic consequences of technical reproducibility, Benjamin also addresses the wider political consequences of this shift