Walter Benjamin: Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit (1936)
I found it quite hard to reflect about Walter Benjamins text, because at times it is a bit confusing and even though I read it in the German Original I find it very hard to summaries his ideas. When we were asked in class to discuss his main point the discussion of my group evolved around his understanding of film, but I’m not sure whether that really is his main point or whether such a main point is even existent. So I decided to kind of summarise his work in the same way he did it, within chapters to get closer to his work.
I
In the first chapter Benjamin talks about the history of reproduction. He argues that: “Das Kunstwerk ist grundsätzlich immer reproduzierbar gewesen.” (Artwork has always been reproducible.) But the technical reproduction was new and developed over the centuries with some revolutionary methods as the printing press, the photographical picture and then the film with sound.
II
Benjamin introduces the idea of the “Aura” by saying that through technical reproduction an artwork loses its most essential thing, its aura. The “Here and now” is still relevant for art, but through technical reproduction it has been taken away from its tradition of being unique. Another change that has taken place through technical reproduction is that the art can adopt to each new situation, can refresh itself through reproduction.
III
In the course of history the cognition of mankind keeps on changing. Benjamin sees in his times a corruption of the aura which he leads back to two main causes which both involve the crowd. Firstly there is the need to bring things closer to oneself and secondly to overcome uniqueness by reproduction.
IV
The uniqueness from a piece of art is identical with its tradition, says Benjamin. He comes to the conclusion that this tradition underlies changes instead of being stable. But its uniqueness and through this its aura didn’t change before the time of technical reproduction.
V
The artwork can be classified through two diametrical opposed categories. One is its cultic value and the other is its possibility to be exhibited. The exhibition value has become more and more relevant through the process of technical reproduction.
VI
Benjamin sees the photographic picture as something where the exhibition value has become more important than the cultic value. But he thinks that in portrait photographs the aura is still sense able, which gives those photographs a higher cultic value than an exhibition value. He writes that for the first time pictures need to be labelled to show their context.
VII
Benjamin mentions the medium of the film and talks about how people see in it some kind of art, but he does not share that opinion!
VIII
He compares the actor on stage with the film actor. Whereas the actor on stage plays for the audience and can adjust his actions to the audiences, the film actor plays for a machine which doesn’t present his work objectively, but voices an opinion through the cameraman and the cutter. The audience watching a movie has to adopt to a machine rather than a human being.
IX
As the aura is bound to its “here and now” the film actor has to leave it behind, even though he as a human being posses such an aura. But the machine is not able to capture that aura: “Es gibt kein Abbild von ihr.” (Because there is no copy of the aura.) (I’m wondering whether he contradicts himself there, as before he spoke of the aura of a portrait photograph.) He also writes about the filming process and how it changes the acting of the actor.
X
Benjamin argues that in the current development of film everybody could become an actor, even an ordinary person.
XI
“Dessen [des Filmes] illusionäre Natur ist eine Natur zweiten Grades; sie ist ein Ergebnis des Schnitts.” (Its [the movies] illusionary nature is that of the second degree, the result of cutting.) Benjamin argues that the cameraman penetrates deeply into his web and through this extracts many different little pieces which are brought together under a new law.
XII
Benjamin compares paintings with film. He writes that paintings were created to be seen by a small group of people at one time only and that the art has been troubled by technical reproduction as now a crowd consumes the art collectively which doesn’t do credit to the paintings. Film on the other hand has been created to be watched by many people at a time.
XIII
In this chapter Walter Benjamin writes about the possibilities of film. That film gives the opportunity to see the everyday life and world in a completely whole new perspective.
XIV
Because film images keep on moving and changing the whole time, the audience doesn’t have time to put a meaning into them.
XV
“Das Publikum ist ein Examinator, doch ein zerstreuter.” (The audience is an examiner, but an absent-minded one.)
I think that in some chapters I forgot to summarise some aspects Walter Benjamin wrote about, but I tried to break it down to more understandable terms for myself and to focus on what I found interesting. So this is not at all complete. And something I haven’t considered at all is the time when this has been written and what historical changes were taking place during that time.
