The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

In 1935, while in exile in Paris from the Nazi regime, Walter Benjamin wrote a highly original essay concerning the evolution of art at that time. Especially with the invention of photography in the 19th century and the growth of film in the early 20th century, art increasingly lent itself to "mechanical reproduction", that is, copying.

In the essay, Benjamin discusses the loss of "aura", or of authenticity. He writes, "the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence." He ultimately connects this observation to mass movements — particularly Fascism — by which the decline of art's "cult value" in favor of "exhibition value" makes it vulnerable to political abuse in the form of aestheticization.

The essay is 20 pages long with an additional 5 pages of notes. A link to the text that our discussion will refer to can be found here. On YouTube, there is also an audiobook reading as well as multiple videos of analysis including Then & Now and the Overthink Podcast.