Art in the Digital World

“Just as water, gas, and electricity are brought into our houses from far off to satisfy our needs in response to a minimal effort, so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign.”

This statement by Paul Valery, reused by Walter Benjamin in his essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” accurately predicted the significant growth of technological advancement in the arts throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In the past few decades, we have seen the growing use of photography and digital media to spread once unique works of art throughout the world. But reproductions of artwork can only go so far.

“Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence. This includes the changes which it may have suffered in physical condition over the years as well as the various changes in its ownership.” As early as 1936, Benjamin already recognized the negative impact – mostly in the loss of the in situ specificity that qualifies genius in a single work – that mechanical reproduction would have on the art world.

Our society has become used to this overabundance of easily accessible art, however. Rather than take long pilgrimages to art galleries all over the world, we can purchase a postcard of da Vinci’s Last Supper or a poster of van Gogh’s Starry Night. Once a one of a kind splendor, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon is reduced to the kitch world of a night-light.

Most recently, websites such as “Google Art Project” (http://www.googleartproject.com/) and “Arounder” (http://www.arounder.com/) have provided people with easy access sources for online interaction with works of art and the museums that house them. We are given 360 degree views of cathedrals, temples, and ancient landmarks without having to leave the comfort of our homes. These revolutionary websites give anyone and everyone the chance to observe notable art havens all over the world.


So what is the problem with this? The problem comes from trying to find a balance between preserving the ingenuity and integrity of high quality works of art in their original location while spreading knowledge and appreciation for the arts to people of all classes and backgrounds around the world. There is no way of determining which is right. Progression is inevitable, and the art world would have no place in contemporary society without keeping up with the times. We just have to find a way to keep people interested in the arts and make them continue to support the works themselves beyond the digital reproductions that lace our walls and computer screens.