The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1935), by Walter Benjamin, is an essay of cultural criticism which proposes that the mechanical reproduction of a work of art devalues the aura of the artefact's uniqueness as art During the Nazi régime (1933–1945), Benjamin wrote the essay to produce a theory of art that is "useful for the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art" in a mass-culture society; that, in the age of mechanical reproduction, and the absence of traditional and ritualistic value, the production of art would be inherently based upon the praxis of politics.

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Walter Benjamin
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
2010
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