Assignment 6

To say that there is no role for the authentic in an age of digital design and manufacture is, I believe, a gross overstatement. Although I agree that we have lost the aura of an original, there is still a role for authenticity as a threshold for other designs. Also I think that is has created a place for a new experience, based on subjectivity, rather than the aura and atmosphere created by the authentic original.

            Without the original there would be no threshold for copies to be replicated or changed. An example is the Mona Lisa, shown below. With the technology of today, believable copies can be made and it would be difficult to tell them apart from the original. Because of this the original may not have as eminent an aura as it would have if not for digital copies, but we still know and recognize the original as the threshold. If we see a copy that has been slightly altered we recognize it and realize it has been changed. Therefore there is a role for authenticity, but it is not as dominant as it was originally. Therefore I slightly agree with Benjamin’s point of “That which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.”, but I think it is only in moderation.

            Before prints could be made of a certain piece of art, I believe that there was a certain aura and this created an atmosphere where the artist could portray an emotion, but it could be skewed by the authenticity and the feelings that created. Now I think that because the aura has been removed we get the chance for a more objective view and a clearer emotional response. The mass manufacturing rids the art of the aura it would have had, because it is not unique and therefore less valuable. However this means that objectivity and understanding of the portrayed emotion is more likely to be clear.

            Although I think there is still a role for the authentic in the digital design and manufacture age, I think it is greatly diminished. It creates a threshold for other copies to be created and altered, but copies mean that the aura is removed and subjectivity of a piece of art can be formed.

Figure  1.  Da Vinci, L.  (1503-1515).  The Mona Lisa  [Painting].  From The Louvre, Paris.  Retrieved  from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_Lisa.jpg