Aura refers to the ability held by the distinctive, unique work, which under modernism is honored by the tactics of mass reproduction (Benjamin, 1968)
The history of man art can be traced way back in the early ages. The fine arts that man enjoys today was developed and established in times that were very different from today. In those times, man’s power of action upon things was inconsequential when compared to the present time. The astonishing growth of man’s techniques, the malleability and accuracy they have attained today, make it a safe bet that thoughtful changes imminent in the ancient craft of the Beautiful (Benjamin, 1968). If you have read Benjamin books on aura, you will agree with me that there is a physical component of art that can no longer be treated the same way it used to be considered. This element remains unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. According to Benjamin 2006, the last twenty years have led to a significant change in not only, in the aura, but also in matter, time and space. With the changing aura, we must expect great modernisms to transformation of the entire tactics of arts. This will of course affect artistic invention itself and perhaps even bring amazing improvements (Benjamin, 1968).
In view of aura change, the change has not been based on new ideas. The principle of the new work of art has just been reproducible. This means that manmade artifacts can only be attributed to the aura of the ancient man. In most case, replicas have been made by school pupils when they are practicing their craft. In addition, the replicas have also been imitated by masters who use them for diffusing their works. The lasts way in which aura has been imitated by the third party, is in the pursuit of gain (Benjamin, 1968). However, everything has not evolved from aura replication. For instance, mechanical reproduction represents something new. Factually, it cutting-edged from recurrent and hikes at long interludes, but with augmented intensity. Greeks knew only two ways of theoretically replicating works of aura: stamping and founding (Benjamin, 1968). During these times, bronzes, coins, terra cottas, were the only aura works which could be produced in quantity. All the other art works were distinctive and could not be mechanically replicated. All this shows how the aura has evolved over the years to be complex art. The aura was previously the only source of art for the mankind but with introduction of more advanced technology, this art has been advanced (Benjamin, 1968).
Mixed realities facing Aura
Aura has become one of the most frequently beseeched terms in media theory. This is because film and other ‘productive’ media argue aura that had belonged to earlier art, which should be, regarded as one of the core nitty-gritty of media theory (Jay David Bolter et al., 2006). For instance, the past decade has brought up mixed realities due to the increasing awareness of human-computer interface experts and computer applications designers (Jay David Bolter et al., 2006). Today, computer application provides a digital data which is incorporated into the user’s observation of the physical environment. In many cases, the amalgamation has been consummated with a variety of conformations of software and hardware. In addition, several strategies have also been given an assortment of names. Some of these names include ‘ubiquitous computing’, ‘palpable computing’, ‘amplified reality’, and ‘wearable computing’. All this application are today been used in art and architecture and has replaced the traditional aura that was previously very valued (Jay David Bolter et al., 2006)
References
Benjamin, Walter. (1968) "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", in Illuminations, ed. and tr. Hannah Arendt, Fontana, London.
Jay David Bolter, Blair MacIntyre, Maribeth Gandy and Petra. (2006). New Media and the Permanent Aura. Georgia Institute of Technology.
