Task II- Benjamin & Mechanical Reproduction//Contemporary Context of Benjamin's theories in Graphic Design Practice.
TASK RESPONSE
http://www.threadless.com/product/1373/True_Love_Will_Find_You_In_The_End/tab,guys/style,shirt
For this task, I will look not specifically at one example of work, but at the portfolio of a contemporary Graphic Designer- British Illustrator and typographer, Si Scott. Within the past decade Scott's hand-rendered, intricate work has received great acclaim and success from various design bodies such as D&AD, Creative Review, and having worked for prestigious clients such as Nike, Vogue, and Tiffany & Co.
Although Scott is renowned for his hand-rendered and intricately illustrated works, he is also known for his mass-produced works, relating back to Benjamin's theories, with the age of mechanical reproduction, digital and technological advances, Scott's work reaches vast, wide audiences through prints, t-shirts, etc- "mechanical reproduction of a work of art, however, represents something new" (Walter Benjamin. 2011. Walter Benjamin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011]).
Along with the mass-produced prints available to buy online, original illustrations are also available for purchase. It is with this combination of work available that a social and quality division is comparable- in which the aura of the original designs are not only emphasised, but are also put at risk, as "even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: it's presence in time and space, it's unique existence at the place where it happens to be" (Walter Benjamin. 2011. Walter Benjamin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011]).
In his essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", Marxist writer, theorist, and philosopher Walter Benjamin discusses the "aura" of a work of art- the original state in which it is created and the emotive drive, reasoning and uniqueness that example piece of work possesses, and discussed the role that mechanical reproduction plays in liberating the viewer, yet compromises the value of art and design; "that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art" (Walter Benjamin. 2011. Walter Benjamin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011]) - although decreasing the value of a work of art, this allows more accessibility to the public, as well as a detached, or lessened sense of the aforementioned "aura"- the uniqueness, creativity, value and even "genius" of a designer returned to a far more realistic and human level- now far more accessible to the "every day man" as opposed to the elite who may have been the only ones to afford the high-end original illustrations and designs in less technologically advanced times.
As with Scott, and many contemporary Graphic Design practitioners, the "aura" of yesteryear is being forged (although this is, by association, automatically inferior) with limited edition prints and the age of DIY and handmade items in attempt to recreated the (now withered) majesty of the "aura", "mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses towards art" (Walter Benjamin. 2011. Walter Benjamin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011])- even in today's modern society this theory is still relevant- in which, with the aid of the expansion of technology we are, indeed, liberated, to form our own views and opinions of work- whether a $10 t-shirt has the same value and is deserving of the same acclaim as a £200 original illustration- removed the traditionalist docile bodies to form our own values and opinions of the institutions of art and design.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- High Above The Street Website, http://www.highabovethestreet.com/Art/All-Prints/Dragonfly-A2/?MID=17&CID=36
- Walter Benjamin. 2011. Walter Benjamin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011])
- Threadless Website, http://www.threadless.com/product/1373/True_Love_Will_Find_You_In_The_End/tab,guys/style,shirt
- I feel as if I could have divulged a lot more about both this subject, and Si Scott's practice within this short essay task but hand to reign myself in after abusing the work limit- whoops.
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