Benjamin’s Theory of Art

In his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin looks at the changing role of art in the industrialized world. He does this by comparing it with the art of the past, understanding its inner workings, and seeking to understand its relationship with the audience.

Benjamin lived truly at the crux of a major social change. For the first time in human history, the populace had considerable time for leisure. Industrialization had created much less manual work in the cities and towns to be done, and therefore people had time to spend with their families and friends during the day. This was reflected extensively in Impressionistic art. Paintings of people boating and picnicking were common, and the masses could actually go and view this art for the first time.

Benjamin used the term "aura" to refer to the feeling of awe created by unique or remarkable objects such as works of art or relics of the past. It is the reciprocity between the work itself and the audience. According to Benjamin older cultures can generate auras around particular objects of veneration, while the capitalist culture has the opposite effect. There objects of veneration have no aura because