WALTER BENJAMIN

THE ARTWORK'S AUTHORITY
from The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

In even the most perfect reproduction, one thing is lacking: the here and now of the work of art-its unique existence in a particular place . . . The here and now of the original underlies the concept of its authenticity, and on the latter in turn is founded the idea of a tradition which has passed object down as the same, identical thing to the present day. The whole sphere of authenticity eludes technological-and of course not only technological-reproduction. But whereas the authentic work retains its full authority in the face of a reproduction made by hand, which it brands a forgery, this is not the case with technological reproduction.

THE WITHERING AWAY OF ART'S 'AURA'
from The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

What withers in the age of the technological reproduction of the work of art is the latter's aura. This process is symptomatic; its significance extends far beyond the realm of art. It might be stated as a general formula that the technology of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the sphere of tradition. By replicating the work many times over, it substitutes a mass existence for a unique existence. And in permitting the reproduction to reach the recipient in his or her own situation, it actualizes that which is reproduced.

THE PROPLEM OF REPRESENTATION
from The Origin of German Tragic Drama

It is characteristic of philosophical writing that it must continually confront the question of representation. In its finsihed form philosophy will, it is true, assume the quality of doctrine, but it does not lie within the power of mere thought to confer such a form. Philosophical doctrine is based on historical codification . . . The more clearly mathematics demonstrate that the total elimination of the problem of representation—which is boasted by every proper didactic system—is the sign of genuine knowledge, the more conclusively does it reveal its renunciation of that area of truth towards which language is directed.

LINKS
_______________

My Twitter

Books!!!
(Memory of the World)