This reading is from Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility. Benjamin is making a statement about reproducibility. The opening states that objects made by humans can and were always copied by humans. In order to study and learn, we copy works that we consider important, though what was produced was limited by medium. With the introduction of lithography, the ability to copy gave design a chance to expand, to be available widely with printed media. The biggest limitation of any media is the human factor, but with photography the speed at which images could be captured and without the human limitation of skill at illustration, images could be quickly delivered to the public. Reproducing photos is also very easy and mechanical and without much if any variation between the photo and further reproductions of it.
art 2840: reading 3
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