Response to "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" by Walter Benjamin

    The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Benjamin is an essay that describes works of art, the "aura" that they have, and reproducing these works. Benjamin talks about each piece of art having an "aura". The "aura" of a work of art is similar to its meaning, however it also includes several other factors, such as the medium the art is on, the time period it was made in, and the context behind its creation. Benjamin also describes how, with the advent of new reproduction technologies such as cameras, it is easy to make copies of pieces of art. These copies may be exact replicas of the original, and yet still be different because they do not have the same "aura". I think that Benjamin is trying to convey the importance of original artwork, especially with the advent of new technology that makes it easy to replicate anything we can observe.