Article: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm
Though I'm not typically a big reader, after reading Walter Benjamin's 1936 article, "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Response" I feel like I have a deeper insight to the true impact of technology on artist's/ artistic authenticity as our society progresses. Our generation of artist's are so used to the current digital age and the ability to access an unlimited amount of sources/ art at any given moment, making it hard to sometimes understand what that access means. The article questioned morals surrounding the blurred line of original and reproduced work, which seems to be more and more complex the deeper you go into the topic.
I found the quote by Paul Valery in section I which says, “Just as water, gas, and electricity are brought into our houses from far off to satisfy our needs in response to a minimal effort, so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign", to be incredibly chilling reading in our present day. This bold prediction for his time not only came true, but exceeded the expectations and our technology continues to advance. It is scary to think that this sort of prophecy was made so long ago, yet became so accurate.
I personally view artistic authenticity very similarly to the way Benjamin described it in the article. Authenticity in art means that time and space were present in the creation of the work. It is all about the conditions in which the creator is working from. These conditions include the time put into thinking about the concept and creating the work, the location and environment in which it's made , where materials are from, even down to the energy of the artist. A reproduction of any artwork (although it can come incredibly close) will never be able to be the same "authenticity".
I think today's technological advancements have changed almost everything about the way we think about art compared to say 200 years ago. Viewing art can now be an interactive and immersive experience through Virtual Reality. Software tools at hand and even pre-set filters on photos change the way digital art is created, again questioning those morals surrounding authentic art. Social media platforms such as BeHance allows artists to connect with other artists and viewers instantly anywhere in the world. These new innovations are exciting to experience, and I do feel lucky to be in such an age. But it is intimidating to think about how irreversible this change all is, art will never be the same.
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