5 Postproduction Images (click on image for full size b/c some are cut off)

Urs Fischer, Untitled, 1993.

Mike Brown

Olaf Breuning, still from Home 2

http://www.olafbreuning.com/

Sui Jianguo, Legacy Mantle (Group of Five Works)

David Hammons, In the Hood, 1993.

5 Postproduction Questions

1) "...in order to show the functioning of the whole of society, they explored the specific site which their activities unfolded..." (p. 70)

This quote seems to describe how Bourraiaud has tried to prove his point throughout the book. Is it possible to make assumptions based on specifics within a larger population? Does making this observation (about someone else’s work) help or hinder the argument Bourraiaud is making?

2) Is ownership truly antiquated in world that largely values capitalist ideologies (esp. the USA)? Do collective ideas created by aspects of contemporary culture (like the internet and DJs) feed into capitalism? Authorship? Ownership?

3) “…one must first inhabit the form of what one wants to criticize.” (p. 74)

Assuming the collective is currently paramount and artists are becoming part of a history (oppose to creating a finite product with a beginning and ending), is it possible to understand something to the point where one can be critical?

4) “…all the works of the past must be “reinvested” or disappear.” (p.37)

At what point does the work of the past disappear? Is this still a possibility in the age of information?

5) If choosing is equal to fabrication what is the point of creation?

Explain these key elements of Benjamin's Essay (from Spring 2009)

a) What is the “Aura” of a work of art?

Benjamin seems to be describing the “Aura” a sense or a feeling of an object from far away generated by its uniqueness. Thorough mechanical reproduction an object is taken stripped of its sense of originality and its uniqueness is extracted.



b) In Benjamin’s mind, what effects did mechanical reproduction, such as film and the camera/photography, have on the viewer’s perception of art?

Mechanical reproduction has sharpened our perceptions by allowing us to see what we could not have seen before either by capturing something unique or by giving us a chance to review and analyze what we could not before.


c) What is meant by the passage: “for the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual.”

By creating art that is no longer based on being unique art is no longer about the ritual. Art becomes about the political as it is designed around the reproducible therefore breaking its dependence on the ritual.



d) What mechanically or otherwise reproductive processes are changing the face of art today?

We use process that are far more reproductive, but mechanical in different ways. From the perspective of Benjamin, I would note with stars computers and the Internet. The Internet in particular has enabled anyone to be and do anything including acting, directing, writing, etc. In terms of politicizing art there is no equal, even when considering the technology that Benjamin describes.

Explain these key elements of Benjamin's Essay (from spring 2010)

a) What is the “Aura” of a work of art?

The “Aura” is the “unique existence” or presence of an object that moves us farther from reality using a “unique phenomenon of a distance.” Benjamin asserts that an object gains authority because of the way it is experienced. Traditionally this is enhanced with that object’s connection to the ritual or rituals (i.e. religion). There is no replica of a presence. If an object is mechanically reproduced you are not really experiencing that object in a quality way (according to my reading of Benjamin).

b) In Benjamin’s mind, what effects did mechanical reproduction, such as film and the camera/photography, have on the viewer’s perception of art?

The camera/photography create a non-quality viewpoint of an object because it is a directed one and it often distorts or changes a real experience. For example, with a camera one can zoom in on an object, or slow down or speed up time. An experience or performance could also be viewed from multiple viewpoints. These distortions are different from how one would encounter a stage performance. There is also a loss of interaction or play between the audience and the object or performance because the performer could not play off of the audience and the audience could not change their experience.

c) What is meant by the passage: “for the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual.”

There is no original so there is no unique work with an aura, and, therefore, artwork is no longer connected with the ritual. As art’s function becomes reproduction, it becomes connected to politics instead.

d) What mechanically or otherwise reproductive processes are changing the face of art today?

Computer software, cell phones, the Internet, digital fabrication (rapid prototyping, laser cutting, etc.), T.V. (portable T.V. is making a comeback), etc.