This week's lecture and reading topics focus on the emerging role of robotics and mechanization in art through the perspectives of Walter Benjamin and Douglas Davis.
Walter Benjamin argues that reproduction takes away from the value of a piece of artwork. In his essay, he claims that "the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence." In other words, the value of a work of art is intimately tied to its existence as a physical object. A reproduction, while visually similar, does not occupy the same physical existence, and thus devalues the artwork.
A comedic instance of this in popular culture can be found on the popular TV show Parks and Recreation in which Ron Swanson, a gifted woodworker, is approached about mass-marketing his handmade chairs.
While this is a good example of the type of artisanship Walter Benjamin claims would be lost by mass industrialization, I believe that it is unfair to say that all art would suffer from the type of rampant reproduction being described here. As Douglas Davis points out, we live in a digital age where information is transmitted and shared in terms of 1s and 0s, making up information as diverse as documents, movies, music, and more. Oftentimes, the significance of the artwork is not in the physical medium, but in the ideas that it attempts to transmit. For example, when a song is performed live, it does not lose its value simply because it was also performed last week. Likewise, movies does not lose their value simply because two theaters both hold a copy of the reel. The value of the art is in its power to inspire people, and if that inspiration can be disseminated through rapid reproduction, then all the better.
As an electrical engineer, I encounter industrialization through the mass production of integrated circuit (IC) components. However, the beauty in the profession comes in understanding how these ICs work, and using this knowledge to synthesize complex circuits from these components to perform a myriad of functions. I believe that the standardization of these ICs is critical in enabling engineers to quickly learn how to use them as building blocks in increasingly sophisticated designs. Thus, I personally find great value in how industrialization and the emergence of robotics has made my area of study more accessible to budding engineers.
Sources
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–386.
Foxconn Assembly Line Animation. Digital image. ARTFCITY. Art F City, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <http://artfcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/giphy-35.gif>.
Muharrar, Aisha. "Recall Vote." Parks and Recreation. Dir. Wendy Stanzler. NBC. 14 Nov. 2013. Television.
"Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History is Concerned." Jeremy Norman's HistoryofInformation.com. Jeremy Norman & Co., Inc., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <http://www.historyofinformation.com/narrative/index.php>.
Uconlineprogram. "Robotics pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
Walter Benjamin argues that reproduction takes away from the value of a piece of artwork. In his essay, he claims that "the technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence." In other words, the value of a work of art is intimately tied to its existence as a physical object. A reproduction, while visually similar, does not occupy the same physical existence, and thus devalues the artwork.
A comedic instance of this in popular culture can be found on the popular TV show Parks and Recreation in which Ron Swanson, a gifted woodworker, is approached about mass-marketing his handmade chairs.
(video courtesy of youtube.com)
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| A depiction of some of the "little Chinese hands" that might be producing Ron Swanson's chairs. (image courtesy of artfcity.com) |
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| A printed circuit board (PCB) designed by me for a club project. While the individual components (the black squares and rectangles on the board) have all been standardized and mass-produced, it is the engineer's job to understand how they work to put them together to create functional circuits. To the engineer, this design is considered to be a 'work of art'. |
As an electrical engineer, I encounter industrialization through the mass production of integrated circuit (IC) components. However, the beauty in the profession comes in understanding how these ICs work, and using this knowledge to synthesize complex circuits from these components to perform a myriad of functions. I believe that the standardization of these ICs is critical in enabling engineers to quickly learn how to use them as building blocks in increasingly sophisticated designs. Thus, I personally find great value in how industrialization and the emergence of robotics has made my area of study more accessible to budding engineers.
Sources
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–386.
Foxconn Assembly Line Animation. Digital image. ARTFCITY. Art F City, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <http://artfcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/giphy-35.gif>.
Muharrar, Aisha. "Recall Vote." Parks and Recreation. Dir. Wendy Stanzler. NBC. 14 Nov. 2013. Television.
"Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History is Concerned." Jeremy Norman's HistoryofInformation.com. Jeremy Norman & Co., Inc., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <http://www.historyofinformation.com/narrative/index.php>.
Uconlineprogram. "Robotics pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
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