Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamin's thesis - Essay Example

In what ways did the work of Marcel Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamins thesis in The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936)? 225 words for each sub-heading Introduction Finding a single definition to what art is may be a very difficult task to accomplish. However, there could be a generalized understanding of the fact that art deals with how human try to exhibit their creative skill and imagination (quote). This is usually done in a visible and tangible and format and the visual representation of such form of human skill and imagination is what art is all about. Art is unique and special in several ways. If for nothing at all, it could be appreciated that it is not all people who possess artistic characteristics and talent and those the few who do are highly praised and revered. It is however important to point out that whether a person is an artist or not, there is a little of art in every person. If for nothing at all, everyone has an appreciation for a good work of art and this makes all people artistic. It is against this backdrop that the development of art has remained a very crucial and important point for discussion for many years. Art has evolved since it was first discovered and the reason behind all these forms of evolutions is to ensure that the production of works of art suit the aesthetic needs of the people to whom it is presented. A key point in global art history in terms of evolutionary art is the early 20th century when Benjamin Walter hypothesized and further came out with an essay on art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In this paper, the ways in which the work of Marcel Duchamp prefigures Walter Benjamin’s thesis in his essay shall be analyzed. Introduction to the works of Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp has been a major contributing icon to the work of art, especially in the 20th century. The 1887 French born had the opportunity of having his first exhibition in 1908 in what was termed Salon d’Automne through the influence of his brother (quote). But since then, Duchamp took a lot of control over what he could do as an artistic personality. It is not for nothing that Perloff (2005) notes that Duchamp’s readymades now commands sky-high prices, with people applying for permission to reproduce some of his related images in a scholarly book on modernism paying as much as $200 apiece. This means that Duchamp has continued to remain a very influential figure in art since the 1990s and continues to dominate modern artistic theories. As far as the mechanical reproduction is concerned, a number of great pieces of art works could be attributed to Duchamp, most of which shall be discussed into detail in later sections of the paper. However, it is worth mentioning that the influence of Duchamp on art through the challenging commands of conventional thoughts he had over artistic processes gave so much scheme to what was yet to be born essay of Benjamin Walter (quote). Though it is said that Duchamp did not succeed in producing as many works of art as some of his predecessors and those that came after him, the few he did and some of his subversive actions predicted that he was a revolutionist of art who wanted the old aura to be replaced with a new one, which Walter later came to champion as a thesis in his essay. Overview of Walter Benjamin’s Thesis The major thesis of Walter Benjamin’s essay touches on the conceptualization that the form of technical reproduction of works of art that takes place today are not a modern phenomenon but that modernity has played a contributing factor in ensuring and enhancing much accuracy in the course of mass production (quote). Throughout the essay, this thesis is elaborate to more or less praise the role of modern artistic discoveries into making what used to be even better. The essay therefore analyses various for m of the development of mechanical visual reproduction including photography, stamping and engraving (quote). In each of these artistic practices, which in the opinion of Walter are not new but an exhibition of mechanical reproduction that has been with us for long, a new line of modern perfection and accuracy is detected as compared to previous forms mechanical reproduction which took forms like inscription of designs on stones. The place of newness that Walter saw in mechanical reproduction was described with the words; “useful for the formulation of revolutionary demands in the politics of art” (quote). This means that in his argument and reasoning, Walter saw a bigger place for art and for that matter mechanical reproduction as not just being important for the sake of aesthetic admiration but also for controlling the larger socio-political world around us. But in all of this, critics have continued to ask whether Walter’s thesis on mechanical reproduction was anything new and something that was totally unheard of especially as it is believed that a person like Duchamp had already given an indication of mechanical reproduction through his works and actions. The concept of Mechanical reproduction There are two major concepts of art that defines the concept of mechanical reproduction as outlined in Walter’s essay. The first has to do with the concept of mechanics and the other has to do with reproduction. By mechanics, reference is being made to the use of manual equipment and strength in the creation of any work. Reproduction on the other hand refers to the creation of a work that is thought to have existed before. Mechanical reproduction would therefore be said to be the re-creation of works of art through the use of manual equipment, knowledge and strength (quote). In the opinion of Walter, mechanical reproduction was a practice that deserved commendation because it had come to make the work of artists quite easier. This was therefore a way of saying that artists who had worked before the acknowledged age of mechanical reproduction were actually doing reproduction but in a different form or through a different means. Walter is indeed, highly critical of the fact that most artists who came earlier refused to admit the fact that they were merely reproducing and not creating new ideas. But Walter did not criticize them entirely or at least in vivid expression. Later, there were some artists who were influenced by Walter’s idea of mechanical reproduction, including John Berger. In his case, Berger however saw everything wrong with mechanical reproduction as he somewhat lamented the destruction of the authority of art through reproduction (quote). He went on to further describe mechanical reproduction as something that make art valueless, free and ubiquitous (quote). Ways in which Duchamp may have prefigured Walter’s Thesis As indicated earlier, there are critiques of Walter Benjamin who have actually said that much of the view and idea of mechanical reproduction existed in different ways and forms before he publically outlined it in his essay. One of such names that come up easily is that of Marcel Duchamp who through action and artwork exhibited glimpses of mechanical reproduction in his time. Two of the works of Duchamp in which mechanical reproduction could be said to be involved are discussed as follow. Production of L.H.O.O.Q. Production of Fountain How mechanical Reproduction separates art from its basis The aura of modernity Fusing Duchamp and Walter in today’s work of Art Conclusion REFERENCE LIST Perloff M. (2005). The Aura of Modernism. Modernist Cultures, Vol. 1: Issue 1, Spring 2005. Read More