Chapter 4 - Why is Art Really Valued

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be."

This was a quote from Walter Benjamin in the chapter that really caught my eye. With the emergence of the printing press in the mid fifteenth century images could finally be reproduced and recreated for the world to see. This was positive for the people because it allowed those who would not have been able to see the original work before to see it in a re-created format. However, like Benjamin said, this created a new argument for artists with the question of authenticity. Before mass production and the internet artists did not really need to worry about authenticity because chances were if artist A made it then they probably did not steal the idea from anywhere. Nowadays, with the vast amount of information available to an artist the public may worry about whether an artist's work of art is really that good or if they stole an idea from somewhere else.

The Benjamin quote really reminded me of our discussions about Pollack paintings specifically. Obviously, Pollack was well known for his almost "childlike" paintings with spattered paint randomly thrown on the canvas, but his paintings are pretty much priceless today. Chances are if I did a 'pollack' style painting and tried to sell it in an art museum it would not sell for much. This is because even though I could pretty much replicate the paintings he did it does not have that aura around it that Benjamin talks about in the chapter.

I think the aura, the story or the meaning behind the work of art may make it more marketable rather than the art itself. That is why child prodigies or artists who have become rather myth-like (i.e. Van Gogh) can sell their paintings for so much money.