Character List - Walter Benjamin - “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”

Cameraman

There is a cameraman in the essay, who foregrounds a specific part of a painting through his pictures and divert our attention to a particular side of the story. He interferes with the sight of the spectator and compels him/her to watch what he wants. It intercedes with the observation of the audience and distracts his/her observation. The film is another form of diversion which is recorded by the cameraman. It has transformed the audience into a critic and the scenes continue whether the spectator has seen them or not. The pictures which the cameraman takes do not possess an authenticity or uniqueness because they are the copy of the original or as Plato says, ‘the copy of a copy.’

Painter

The author has demonstrated a painter who has a connection with his paintings. The paintings are the old form of art which are being replaced by the modern art in the form of pictures. The painter had a historical and aesthetic relation with his work, and he did not intercede with the observation of the spectator. The paintings have an aura and cult qualities within them. They were not a part of the mechanical reproduction of art. The painter has been compared with a magician, who keeps distance from his work while the cameraman has been compared with a surgeon who gets indulge in his work.

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Art

Art is employed as a character by the author because it has been personified as a person. Art possesses the qualities of consuming humans, manipulating them and diverting their attention. Walter Benjamin has compared the old and modern forms of art along with discussing their qualities and potential. The old art was unique, confined, valuable and mesmerizing. However, the modern art has the ability to manipulate the masses and it is available to general public because of being exhibited by the artists. Click Here for next Digit

Eugene Atget

The author has mentioned the photographer of Paris Eugene Atget, who took the pictures of empty streets of Paris, but they seemed like they were the photographs of crime scenes. The author says, “It has quite justly been said of him that he photographed them like scenes of crime.” This is how a photographer intercedes with the observation of the spectator. He propagates a specific ideology irrespective of the reality. The modern art form and the artists can change the reality through their cameras.

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Introduction and Historical Information

Background

Summary - I

Summary - II

Summary - III

Analysis - I

Analysis - II

Quotes

Character List

Themes 

Walter Benjamin and Important Artists and Artworks

Essay Questions:

 

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