Week 3: Art, Mechanization/Digitalization, and Originality

    

                                       Fig. 1: A Bionic, Technical Version of Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam"

    I agree when Walter Benjamin suggests that mechanical reproduction has certainly changed the manner aura of a work of art (Benjamin). However, I disagree with his view that mechanical reproduction devalues the uniqueness of an art piece (Benjamin). Instead, mechanical reproductions allow for different interpretations, which then make that very same reproduction unique in and of itself. 

    Film has been a mode by which physical art and its digital reproductions have been combined (Davis). Again, I disagree with Douglas Davis's view that this combination diminished the originality of art. Film has reflected both the mechanization and digitalization of our time. It has redefined the way we have come to understand art.

                                                                   Fig. 2: Howl's Moving Castle

    One of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, Howl’s Moving Castle, is an animated story about a wizard who lives in a moving castle (Miyazaki). The depiction of the castle is unique and reflects the era of industrialization. The castle is a combination of mechanized trinkets, steam engines, pipes, and cannon stations (Miyazaki). It reminds me a lot of early factories during the Industrial Revolution. The interpretation of this castle would be different if, for example, it was painted. Viewers would not be able to hear the mechanical whirring of its movement and they wouldn't be able to see its unsteady movements. In the original book, readers would have to visualize the castle by reading the description on the page. In a way, these modes allow for different interpretations of the castle, each unique in their own formats. 

                                                                 Fig. 3: Frakenstein (1931)

    This movie exemplifies are modes of art are influenced by robotics and industrialization in general. Faraday’s interest in electromagnetism engaged his artwork in daily household appliances (Vesna). Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein engaged with the stigma surrounding new technology and morality  (Vesna). Robotics, mechanization, and digitalization in turn offer the artist “a new creative collaborator”, creating new meanings (Gayford).

                                                                                                

   Works Cited

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Translated by J. A. Underwood, Penguin Books, 2008.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–86, https://doi.org/10.2307/1576221. Accessed 16 Apr. 2022.

Gayford, Martin. “Robot Art Raises Questions about Human Creativity.” MIT Technology Review, 15 Feb. 2016, https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/02/15/162067/robot-art-raises-questions-about-human-creativity/. 

 

Poster for the film Frankenstein. IMDb, 1931, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/.

Poster for the film Howl’s Moving Castle. IMDb, 2004, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/mediaviewer/rm2848505089/.

Miyazaki, Hayao, et al. Howl's Moving Castle. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2006. DVD.Vesna, 

Monohan, Mike. A Bionic, Technical Version of Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.” https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/bionic-technological-version-michaelangelos-creation-adam-13620997.

Victoria. “Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetics/Robotic Art.” BruinLearn, Apr. 2022, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/129896/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=4852504