Nina Earley Ben Sloat MFA Semester 1 8.30.

2012

Walter Benjamin, Claes Oldenburg, and Instagram

In 1936 Walter Benjamin wrote about the effects photography and film technologies will have on the future of art. Nearly 40 years later Claes Oldenburg penned a manifesto about what art is to him. Even though the philosopher and the artist never met, both of their writings have common themes and both are applicable to todays art world in ways neither of them presumably could have imagined. In The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936) Walter Benjamin examined the effect of technological advances on the art world. He stated that the uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition (19) and that this history has been shaken up by the invention and subsequent dissemination of photography and film. Benjamin discussed the importance of the presence of the original () to the concept of authenticity (13), defining the aura of a work of art as: The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced (14). He outlined the weight of tradition in art to underscore the change new technologies will bring along. With the invention of photographic equipment mechanical reproduction

Earley 2 emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual and with this increasing reproducibility the audience and viewing space for the work of art changes. Concerning these changes Benjamin wrote: Namely, the desire of contemporary masses to bring things closer spatially and humanly, which is just as ardent as their bent toward overcoming the uniqueness of every reality by accepting its reproduction. Every day the urge grows stronger to get hold of an object at very close range by way of its likeness, its reproduction (18). Art that previously had been elevated to be accessible to an elite and privileged audience only would now be viewed by the masses (18). In addition to the changing of the exhibition space, Benjamin discussed the blurring lines between artist and audience that would be made possible. The newsreel offers everyone the opportunity to rise from passer-by to movie extra (32). He could not foresee to which degree this statement would ring true: the distinction between author and public is about to lose its basic character (32). While Claes Oldenburg is not an artist working in the medium of film that Benjamin discussed, there are some overarching similarities in their published thoughts on art. Oldenburg became disillusioned with the elitist exhibit spaces found in galleries and museums. Like Benjamin he embraced the reproducibility that new technologies allowed him and he wanted to make work for the masses, both in meaning and access. By building plaster sculptures of everyday objects and selling them for an affordable price in a storefront space he created an interactive experience for his audience while

Earley 3 simultaneously making statements about the commercialism of art (Steck). Through this created environment he, like Benjamin had predicted, blurred the lines between artist and viewer. Oldenburg discussed his intentions by creating a list of statements that include the following: I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum. I am for an art that grows up not knowing it is art at all, an art given the chance of having a starting point of zero. () I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. () I am for the art of conversation between the sidewalk and a blind mans metal stick (Oldenburg 56). As is evidenced by the excerpts from his statement, Oldenburg sees the importance of art that is accessible, and art that is created out of the every-day and ordinary, art that anyone can make and understand. Both of these essays were written years before digital technologies were invented and produced to the extent that they are now, and yet both make statements that are still applicable to the art world today. Through digital photography and access to computers, the Internet, and iPhones art has truly become accessible to anyone. Art now can be anything, seen by anyone, and made by anyone. An artist can benefit from the anonymity that the Internet provides, while simultaneously exhibiting work to an audience that is truly a mass in one instant. Benjamin wrote that mechanical reproduction of art changes

Earley 4 the reaction of the masses toward art (37) and that statement is as true today as it was in 1936. One tool that has recently transformed photography is the iPhone application Instagram.1 By turning a cell phone that nearly any person has access to into a camera with editing capabilities, photography as a medium becomes accessible. I am for an artist who vanishes, turning up in a white cap painting signs or hallways, (57) said Oldenburg, and that is more possible now than it ever has been. Instagram also blurs the lines between artist and viewer, which can be problematic for the artist who hopes to support himself through his art. Benjamin was anticipating this when he said, the greatly increased mass of participants has produced a change in the mode of participation (43). While competition can create higher quality work, it also makes it more difficult for high quality work to be seen. The viewer today is inundated with images, possibly to an extent that does not allow for strong work to stand out. Ultimately, Oldenburg and Benjamin had similar ideas in different times, and both of their statements are still applicable today. As they both stated, and more than ever today, art does not require an elite standing and a select audience to survive. In fact, art as a whole has benefited incredibly from the increased accessibility it has gained through the invention and dissemination of new technologies.

Instagram, Inc. More information at www.instagram.com.

Earley 5 Works Cited Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Prism Key, 2010. Print. Harrison, Charles, and Paul Wood. Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2003. Print. Oldenburg, Claes. I am for an Art(1961/1967). Artists, Critics, Context: Readings in and around American Art since 1945. Ed. Paul Fabozzi. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 56-59. Print. Steck, Stuart. "Critical Theory 1." June 2012 MFA Residency AIB. Boston. June 2012. Lecture. Systrom, Kevin, and Mike Krieger. Instagram. Instagram, Inc. 2012. Web. 30 August. 2012. <http://www.instagram.com>.