The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Essay

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction - Essay employmentWith the development of human civilization, mechanical reproduction of a work of art was introduced. It had given a refreshful direction to the work of art both in scale and perception. With the passage of time, new and improved techniques were essential to reproduce or replicate the work of art. The woodcut graphic art was the runner form of consistent art. Later, the printing was introduced. Printing had brought an enormous change both in literature and ancient script. During the Middle Ages grave and etching were added to the woodcut and at the beginning of the 19th century lithography made its appearance (Benjamin, 42). Lithography, enabled the graphic artists first time, to put its products on the market non only in large numbers as hitherto, exclusively also in daily changing forms. Nevertheless, it could not sustain too long as afterwards a few decades lithography was surpassed buy photography. Ph otography, along with technical reproduction of sound later around 1900, not only accelerated the process of technical reproduction of art, but also brought it to a standard where either visual or auditory images of art can appear and disappear at a open movement of hand. It also shadowed its strong impact on society and captured a place of its protest among the artistic processes.