Walter Benjamin writes about the aura of the work of art, and how it is withered by mechanical reproduction. This is most relevant for the world's most famous artworks, what Peter Porçal calls the 'inflated images'. In the past seven months, I've seen a lot of them- The David, The Parthenon, and the Mona Lisa are the most iconic examples. When I saw the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, I was most deeply affected not by the beautiful painting, but by the gaping mob trying to get snapshots of the beautiful painting. So I took out my digital camera, too, and captured a video of them.
Want to see them?
Notice the utter and complete lack of aura, and the damaging flashes going off every couple of seconds.
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