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.
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