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BENJAMIN
AND AURA
Aura is the concept that Walter Benjamin (1936) defined to circumscribe the tradition and the uniqueness of art, The aura can be described as the “unique existence” in the authentic version of an artwork, displayed in its particular exhibition place.
The concept of Aura has been defined twice. The first definition that Benjamin offered is from Benjamin's 1931 essay "Little history of photography". He defines that,
"What is aura, actually? A strange weave of space and time: A unique appearance of distance."
(Selected Writings, p.518)
Then, he redefines the aura in his another well-known essay "The work of art in the age of its technological reproduction" However, this time, he tries to say there is one thing lost in the artworks produced by the technological reproduction. This thing is aura.
He redefines aura from two aspects.
The first aspect is the authenticity of artworks. He says.
"In even the most perfect reproduction, one thing is lacking: the here and now of the work of art -- its unique existence in a particular place. "
(Critical Vision, p.232)
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The second aspect is his re-emphasis of distance. He clarifies that,
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"What, then, is the aura? A strange tissue of space and time: the unique apparition of a distance."
(Critical Vision, p.233)
The main body of my essay is mainly based on the two sub-definitions that Benjamin presents, distance and authenticity.
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