Prior to this week's material, I had not learned nor had I thought about the impacts that the development and advancement of mechanization had on art. This influence can be traced all the way back to the popularization of the printing press. The printing press, which was invented by the Chinese in 1040, was introduced to the West in 1450 by John Gutenberg. This led to the printing of all types of readings, it facilitated the scientific method, and it marked the beginning of assembly line production. The impact that this development and later advancements in mechanization had on art is discussed in Walter Benjamin's essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Production". Here, Benjamin argues that even the most perfect reproduction of art lacks a presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. He calls this lost element the "aura" of an artwork.
In doing outside research on this topic, I came across the opinion column, "Art, aura, and the doomed search for the perfect selfie" where the author describes her experience at a Van Gogh exhibition. She states that due to the proliferation of photo-taking—"selfies"— the pieces in the gallery were stripped of their aura. Though I agree with the argument that there are some spaces in which cell-phone use should be limited, I also think that the use of cell-phones has made art more accessible to people who would otherwise not have access to it. However, taking pictures of someone else's artwork should only be done if one has permission.
This week's material also covered robots which emerged in relation to mass production and assembly lines. This topic made me think about how robots are depicted in more recent popular culture, specifically in Marvel movies. First, I thought of Ultron who was an AI originally designed to protect Earth from extraterrestrial threats. However, after learning more about humans he deemed people themselves as the greatest threat to Earth and calculated that the best decision was extinction level genocide. This stands in contrast to the character, Vision—an android designed to be as similar to human beings as possible—who vowed to fight with the rest of the superheroes to protect humanity. I think these characters represent people's biggest fears when it comes to robots and technological advancements as well as what they hope those advancements become.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” 1936.
Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy. “Art, aura and the doomed search for the perfect selfie | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett.” The Guardian, 22 August 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/22/art-aura-doomed-search-perfect-selfie. Accessed 13 April 2022.
“Ultron | Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki | Fandom.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Ultron. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Vesna, Victoria, director. Industrialization, Robotics, kinetic / robotic arts. Bruin Learn, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=4852504. Accessed 11 April 2022.
Vesna, Victoria, director. Robotics part 2. Bruin Learn, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=4852504. Accessed 11 April 2022.
“Vision | Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki | Fandom.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Vision. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Works Cited (Images)
Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy. “Art, aura and the doomed search for the perfect selfie | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett.” The Guardian, 22 August 2019,
“Penguin Books - "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."” AdForum, https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34446961/the-work-of-art-in-the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction/penguin-books. Accessed 13 April 2022.
“Ultron | Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki | Fandom.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Ultron. Accessed 13 April 2022.
“Vision | Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki | Fandom.” Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki, https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Vision. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Hey Misty! I enjoyed many of the points you made and especially your movie example of robots. I think you made a good point about increased accessibility to art through cellphones which was something I somewhat touched based on within my own blog post. Yes, there is no denying that when people take pictures of art, it is not the same as experiencing the original, but some individuals may not be able to physically visit museums or other locations where art pieces are exhibited. Mass production can make art more accessible to these individuals. I also enjoyed your analysis of the use of robots in Marvel movies. I had never considered how these two robots portray the two types of mindsets humans have about robots in real life. Similar to what was discussed by Professor Machiko Kushara, Ultron represents a more Western perspective on robots—they are feared and given scary personas whereas Vision is designed in a fashion that is meant to help others, not scare them similar to the robots in Japanese culture.
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