6 1- Walter Benjamin's artistic relations of production? Optical halo appearing on photographic film

Benjamin is a German literary critic. After finishing by later generations, his literary theory is called "technical literary theory", which mainly includes three aspects.

First, the end of classical art and the confusion of modern art.

This argument is Benjamin's annotation on Ma Yi's "Art is dominated by material relations of production".

1. In the manual age, interpersonal communication mainly relies on time narration, such as traditional novels; In the industrial age, the communication between people depends on "instantaneous" information, such as mechanical reproduction of art such as photography and movies, so Benjamin called the contemporary era "the era of artistic fission".

2. Classical art focuses on narration, with clear meaning; Modern art, on the other hand, is obscure because of its instantaneity, and can only be understood after thinking.

(1) Baudelaire added "reflection" to his lyric poems, which made it rise to the dominant position and increased the difficulty of reading;

(2) Brecht's epic plays use alienation to make the audience jump out of the plot, reflect rationally and finally understand the significance of the drama.

Secondly, the unique theory of artistic production.

This view is Benjamin's annotation on Ma Yi's "productive forces determine production relations".

1. Artistic creation is production and artistic appreciation is consumption; The skill of artistic creation is artistic productivity, and the relationship between artistic producers and consumers constitutes the relationship of artistic production.

2. Artistic productivity determines artistic production relations. When there is a contradiction between the two, there will be an artistic revolution and new artistic skills, thus breaking the old artistic production relations and promoting the development of art.

3. As a representative of literary productivity, literary skills occupy a special position in Benjamin's theory of artistic production:

(1) is related to the materialistic principle of literary criticism-the attitude towards works depends on whether the literary skills of the works are advanced or not.

(2) It is used to eliminate the dispute of political inclination-political inclination is content, and content does not go beyond literary skills or forms, so "literary inclination" can be used instead of "political inclination".

(3) From the perspective of technological determinism, Benjamin respected modern artistic means and modernist art. ..

4. Art consumers can be transformed into collaborators in art production-the works are illuminated by the history of later readers' consumption, and the production of works is a continuous process, and consumers in different historical periods can participate. This view initiated the contemporary reception aesthetics.

Third, the artistic theory in the era of mechanical reproduction.

1. Traditional art was local at that time and unique in its birthplace. This uniqueness constitutes the "halo" around the work; Modern works of art can be infinitely copied by modern technology, and the uniqueness and "halo" disappear.

2. With the disappearance of aura, the artistic value has also changed-traditional art is based on etiquette and has worship value; Modern art, on the other hand, is based on politics, and only shows its value.

3. The way and effect of art appreciation have also changed-traditional art is closely watched by the audience, while modern art is appreciated as a pastime; The former purifies the feelings of the audience, while the latter brings thrilling psychological effects to the audience.

Fourth, Benjamin enjoys movies.

1. As an artistic means, movies enrich the way we observe the world.

2. The film shows the non-mechanical level in real life in a mechanical way, and this level contains rich activities and changes in the spiritual world that have not been alienated.

Overall evaluation of Benjamin:

1. Benjamin studied art from the perspective of materialism and tried to apply historical materialism to literary theory, which is commendable.

2. Benjamin's literary theory has a distinct technical tendency, supporting and advocating various modern art forms.

However, Benjamin neglected the spirituality and originality of art, which is a shortcoming.