Review of 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
To fetishize the auratic is to essentialize art as mere authenticity. This is not only anti-democratic, but worse still, it is anti-fun. The gaze of the masses will not tarnish art. The ease of access is what allows for creativity. It allows for the new to emerge from the old.
Naturally, we have to be cautious of the pressure capital and power exert on art. Fascism seeks to aestheticize hate. Communism falls for the fetishization of the aura in an attempt to disarm fascism. Capitalism commodifies it and sanitizes it. Mass reproduction can be abused, but only by using it for further education of the people can we achieve emancipation!