Art today finds itself under the attack of the consumer society, which approaches it with the same lack of curtesy as it grants consumer goods. This may seem to create a loss of value for art which has become easy to reproduce. While in the past, art was removed from the everyday context, and only the privileged few had access to it, today, it is not only more easily accessible, but even the poorest people can afford to have their walls decorated with reproduced versions of paintings by famous artists. Being able to access it so easily, art loses its special appeal, or its aura for the viewers, who most of the time, only look at works of art fugitively, as they have already seen countless reproductions of the piece in various books, on the internet, on TV, or in print forms. These viewers are not so knowledgeable about the art piece that they find nothing to explore in the work. Rather, they are so used to them that these pieces lost their mystique factor. However, people continue to explore the museums in search for the original art works whose reproductions have seen so many times. Perhaps the ‘fame’ factor contributes to bringing a new dimension of interest in the viewers. Furthermore, the rediscovery of lost artistic ‘jewels’ is an occasion for the viewers to experience the same excitement and wonder as art perhaps elicited on viewers before the commodification of art. Such is the case with Taddeo Gaddi’s “Maestà”, which was completed in the early 1330s and was exposed at the New York Historical Society. This work shows that authenticity and aura are not lost in present-day appreciation of art and yet, “Maestà” elicits different feelings for the viewers than the contemporary works of art, whose authenticity lies in their reliance on contemporary forms to transmit new messages.
A representative of the early Renaissance, Taddeo Gaddi was Giotto’s most important student. His triptych entitled “Maestà” is currently the central exhibit at the New York Historical Society, which features only two other pieces. The purpose of the exhibition, entitled “Maestà, Gaddi’s Triptych Reunited”, is to display for the first time after a very long time, the triptych in its original form, with all its parts reunited. The painting features Virgin Mary on the throne, in central position, holding baby Jesus on her lap. She is flanked on each side by 10 adoring saints (Johnson). The flanking panels called shutters represent the Annunciation and the Nativity scenes on the left side, and the scene of the Crucifixion on the right. As Johnson explains, they are painted with great sensitivity and attention to detail. When closed, the shutters used to show on their reverse sides, images of St. Catherine with a wheel and St. Christopher carrying a small child. However, at one point in the long history of the painting, the shutters were separated from the main panel, and then, sliced in half (Johnson). This exhibition is special because it reunites all the pieces of the triptych.
The present analysis focuses on this painting because its conservation status creates renewed interest in the painting. Additionally, because it is a triptych, it is more difficult to reproduce and consequently, the viewers are less familiar with it. Being separated and owned by multiple parties, the painting, once reunited becomes a fascinating journey to the past for the interested viewers, and is able to incite religious feelings more easily. Its style, with the Virgin Mary represented as a royal figure on a throne, corresponds to early religious imagery. Additionally, in order to recreate the aura that this painting must have once had, the museum exhibited it in an intimate atmosphere, in a darkened gallery, with early Renaissance music (Johnson). This enhances the experience of the viewers and causes the aura of the painting to increase, by helping viewers to enter a contemplative state and to become transfigured by the art of the early renaissance.
The aura is connected to the idea of authenticity, as Walter Benjamin showed, and this triptych which has been lost for a long time, and is essentially unknown for most viewers, is authentic in every sense of the word. Not only it is unique, and not reproducible due to its special shape as a triptych, but is also unique due to its style and imagery, which has been long lost. The devotional piece is able to inspire religious feelings in the viewers for this reason. The authenticity and uniqueness of its style and of its form inspire a sense of awe in the viewers. Unlike contemporary art forms which focus on distraction, Gaddi’s “Maestà”, with its golden tones, and its serious message, encourage the viewers towards contemplation, and towards extensive thinking. The purpose is to inspire viewers to enter a state of bliss and disconnect from mundane problems, to focus on spiritual aspects.
However, today, it is not easy to elicit these kinds of feelings on the modern viewers for two reasons. This is first because today’s viewers are less likely to be religious, and to appreciate the painting’s mystical aura and secondly, because due to reproduction, viewers are not as likely to be interested in static works. Rather, they are more interested in interactive, dynamic artworks, which are able to engage them more easily. For this reason, the museum chose to help viewers enter the necessary state to appreciate the painting fully, by adding renaissance music.
The current culture is authentic despite the issue of mass production, which allows artworks to become commodified, in the form of reproductions, which can be found even on T-shirts or bags. In order to avoid being devalued this way, contemporary artists make their work unique by creating dynamic works which engage different sensory experiences, or by focusing on performing arts. Contemporary artists may play with textures, and may shock, surprise or anger viewers, simply for the sake of allowing them to be move by the work of art. Contemporary art may be socially oriented, as Benjamin showed, but this does not mean that religion does not have a place in art any longer .On the contrary, religious art itself may serve a social purpose by sending different messages , or by expressing different social inequalities. For example, religious street art is both unique and authentic, and able to send powerful social messages to the viewers.
Therefore, certain parts of the contemporary US culture are authentic, because they cannot be reproduced, and they are meant to create a unique experience for the viewers, because they gather together different types of media to form a complex, multisensorial image for the viewers. In this way, contemporary art is authentic in a different way than Benjamin expressed in his work, and may speak more to the public, because it draws from present-day challenges and religious dilemmas, and it speaks to viewers in new ways. An art piece such as Gaddi’s “Maestà” may preserve its appeal and its aura for the viewers because of its ability to touch viewers across time and space, but present-day culture is raw and powerful because it deals with closer realities, and because it is too dynamic, multisensorial, or performative, to be reproduced.
Works Cited
Johnson, Ken. Review: “Maestà, Piecing Together Part of a Lost Legacy”. The New York Times. Dec. 31, 2015. Print.
