How to understand Benjamin's theory of artistic production and his concept of "charm"

On Benjamin's Concept of Spiritual Rhyme

Benjamin's theory of artistic production initiated the aesthetics of reception, and "charm" is one of the central concepts of Benjamin's aesthetic thought, which makes the works of art have an image beyond the image, a mysterious atmosphere and artistic conception. In sacred art, the worship of the sacred is dominant, while in secular art, the unique authenticity of the non-mechanical reproduction of the original overrides the mysterious worship, and authenticity replaces the worship value. However, large-scale mechanical reproduction has greatly improved the exhibition of the works, and the worship value has gradually dissipated, giving way to the display value.

Keywords Benjamin; Aura; Lingyunguan

China Library Classification Number: J40 Document Identification Number A1006-0278 (2015) 08-215-02.

Walter. Walter benjamin (1892- 1940), a German aesthetician, literary critic and philosopher, is one of the important members of Frankfurt School in Germany. The main representative works are Works of Art in the Age of Technological Reproduction, Lyric Poet in Developed Capitalism and the Origin of German Tragedy. Works of Art in the Age of Technical Reproduction is Benjamin's masterpiece, among which the theory of technical reproduction art is particularly striking. The art of technical reproduction refers to "modern works of art that can be copied in large quantities by advanced technology and mechanical means". In recent years, the western research community has increasingly realized the importance of Benjamin. British scholar Eagleton said: "An obvious sign of the past twenty years is Walter? Benjamin. " And formed a kind of "Benjamin revival". Compared with the research fever of Benjamin abroad, the research of Benjamin in China is still in its infancy.

"Gas field" is one of the central concepts of Benjamin's aesthetic thought, which can be found in A Brief History of Photography (193 1). Benjamin raised "halo" to the height of artistic destiny. An important phenomenon he paid attention to was the disappearance of "halo" in modern reproduction art. In "Technical Reproduction", he gave a definition of "halo" and pointed out two perceptual dimensions of halo in time and space:

Halo is a unique haze from time and space ... it is breathing the halo of these mountains and this branch.

From this quotation, we can see that halo is a universal experience, which can appear in anything. Benjamin's general description of halo phenomenon here also focuses more on objective objects and external things. However, the experience of aura lies in the mental state and sensibility of the subject, or an attraction between the subject and the object, the observer and the observed. Benjamin's evaluation of halo "can be very close, but beyond a certain distance is an unparalleled artistic conception" is as follows:

Halo is defined as "an unparalleled artistic conception, which can be approached, but beyond a certain distance" ... People can approach it on the material level, but they cannot eliminate the distance. Far is its innate quality.

Halo appeared in Benjamin's works roughly three times. It first appeared in A Brief History of Photography by 193 1 to describe the attributes of old portrait photos. "No matter how close a special space-time interweave is, there will be a distance representation." Then it is used by lyric poets in the developed capitalist era to refer to the characteristics of traditional art different from Baudelaire's art, which is considered as "a natural reaction change around the relationship between perceptual objects in' unconscious memory'." Last time, in "Art Works in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", it was defined as "a unique expression of something so close at a certain distance."

Benjamin believes that "halo" has at least the following four characteristics: First, it is mysterious. The reason why art has worship value is that the primitive age of its birth is closely related to witchcraft rituals, and the "halo" is largely related to the inner mystery of this worship value. Secondly, it is ambiguous. "Dizzy" is an understandable but difficult feeling to express. It can touch your heart and make you deep in thought, but it is difficult for you to tell what this feeling is, which is related to the richness and complexity of the "gas field" itself. The third is uniqueness and authenticity. Because the appearance of a work of art is immediate and immediate, it is closely related to the artistic thinking of the creator himself, so it is unique.

The arrival of the era of mechanical reproduction pushed the halo to a desperate situation, and its fading was the characteristic of that era. It has opened up a broader space for the public and turned the appreciation function of works of art into a political function. The disappearance of aura means that the uniqueness of works of art is destroyed, shortening the time and space distance between works of art and people. Popular culture has stepped onto the historical stage at a rapid speed, forcing elite culture into a corner, constantly strengthening the exhibition value of works of art and weakening the worship value of works of art. On the stage, cameras gradually replaced the audience, allowing subjects and objects to communicate without direct contact. This era was also called the Enlightenment by Hawke Hammer and Adorno. "The process of enlightenment is to wake up the world." Therefore, the disappearance of the gas field makes the worship value of artistic works be replaced by the exhibition value, and the sense of distance of ritual function that makes people stay away from each other also recedes in a large number of replicas, which makes the real artistic works lose their authority.

Benjamin is optimistic about the emergence and rise of movies, because he thinks that movies show a strange world and visual unconsciousness. The characteristics of movies lie not only in people's performance in front of the camera, but also in how people use the camera to show the objective world and show things that we are not easy to perceive in daily life. Movies also enrich the public's view of the world in a way that Freudian psychology can explain, which not only leads to the deepening of visual senses, but also leads to the deepening of auditory senses.

In Benjamin's view, art originates from ceremony, and the breath of gods enters the author's body, which is the source of the sacredness of works. This is also the core of ancient inspiration theory. The work shines because of the breath of God, and the work has an image outside the image, a rhyme outside the rhyme, a taste outside the flavor, a mysterious atmosphere and artistic conception because of the breath of God. This function is fully embodied in witchcraft and religious art related to rituals, which is the sacredness and uniqueness of ritual art, making people. Even in post-Renaissance art, where the secularization process is greatly accelerated, the "authenticity" of its existence mainly comes from the tangible and unique authenticity of the painter or his painting achievements, but the concept of "authenticity" always goes beyond the boundaries of truth. The authenticity of secular art should be based on etiquette.

As an intellectual with political ideals, Benjamin faced the destruction of modern art and charm, but his obsession with traditional art was irreplaceable by modern art. After all, Benjamin was a literati, and his deepest desire was to return to his spiritual home. As Zhao Yong said, "Although Benjamin had a positive attitude towards pop culture, he still loved traditional art more in his bones. Because pop culture will only shock him, only traditional art can make him feel that mysterious beauty. " The contradiction between personal perceptual interest and political ideal makes Benjamin's evaluation of charm rich and complicated.

References:

[1] Zhu Liyuan. History of modern western aesthetics [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1997.

[2][ English] Eagleton Walter? Benjamin: Still moving towards revolutionary criticism [A]. Eagleton. Politics, philosophy and love in history [C]. Translated by Ma Lianghai. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1999: 33.

[3] Benjamin. Experience and poverty [M]. Wang Bingjun, Jin Yang, translator. Tianjin Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House, 2006.

[4][ America] Lindsay? Waters. Criticism of aesthetic authoritarianism [M]. Ang Zhihui, translated Beijing: Peking University Publishing House, 2000: 269.

[5] Hannah? Arendt Enlightenment: Selected Works of Benjamin [M]. Beijing: Sanlian Bookstore, 20 12.

[6] Hawk Hammer? Adorno Enlightenment dialectics [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Century Publishing Group, 20 12: 1.

[7] Yang Lu, Wang Yi. Introduction to Cultural Studies [M]. Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 20 12: 106.

[8] Zhao Yong. Integration and subversion: dialectics of popular culture [M]. Beijing: Peking University Publishing House, 2005.

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On Benjamin's Theory of Artistic Production

Abstract Walter? Benjamin is one of the most famous philosophers, aesthetes and Marxist literary critics in Germany in the 20th century, and is known as "the last intellectual in Europe". As one of the representatives of the early core of Frankfurt School, he is famous for his unique theory of "artistic production". At present, China is in the historical period of social transformation, and the development of literature and art under the market economy in Socialism with Chinese characteristics is undergoing profound changes. Therefore, it is still of great significance and value to study Benjamin's theory of artistic production. This paper mainly combs the construction of Benjamin's "Art Production Theory" from three aspects: artistic skills, artistic products and art consumption, and briefly analyzes its significance.

Keywords Benjamin; Art production theory; Artistic production; Art products; art consumption

The theory of artistic production, in short, is the theory of social production. As early as the19th century, Marx saw the similarity between artistic production and material production ―― both artistic production and material production are production activities governed by consumption laws. In the economic philosophy manuscript of 1948, Marx pointed out that "religion, family, country, law, morality, science, art, etc.". It's just a special mode of production, which is dominated by universal production laws. This is the first time that Marx clearly stated in his works that art is a special mode of production. 1857 In August, Marx wrote: In the Introduction, the concept of "artistic production" was formally put forward for the first time, and it was pointed out that "the development of material production is like the unbalanced relationship of artistic production" [2]. He first put forward the theoretical framework of artistic production, and discussed artistic production and material production in the same category.

Marx's unique understanding and grasp of the development of art has opened up a unique theoretical perspective of studying art with "production-consumption". Walter. Marx's theory of artistic production inspired Benjamin greatly. On this basis, he regards artistic creation as a special production activity and process with common laws with material production. In this activity and process, artistic creation is composed of producers, products and consumers, and they are also influenced and restricted by the law of contradictory movement of productive forces and production relations. In Benjamin's view, artistic creation is production and artistic appreciation is consumption. The skill of artistic creation, namely "technology", represents a certain level of artistic development and constitutes the artistic productivity in artistic production. The relationship between art producers and consumers constitutes the relationship between art production [3]

First, artistic skills-"mechanical reproduction technology"

Benjamin lived in an era of industrial revolution and rapid development of science and technology. Based on his understanding and absorption of Marx's relevant literary theories, combined with the specific social situation of his time, he deeply discussed the important influence of industrial technology and scientific progress on all levels of literature and art at that time, and finally formed his own unique literary production theory.

In Benjamin's view, artistic production not only refers to artistic creation in the traditional sense, but also includes large-scale reproduction production of art in the era of mechanical reproduction. Benjamin put forward the concept of "artistic mode of production" and made a macro study of artistic works in the social environment. He thought that the technology of producing artistic products was directly related to the position and function of artistic products in society and its own influence on society. Obviously, the skill of artistic production not only involves the content, form and even style of artistic products, but also is the core element of artistic production mode in Benjamin's eyes. Therefore, "artistic skills" naturally become the primary research topic of Benjamin's artistic production theory.

Benjamin pointed out in the article "Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" that "art, like other forms of production, depends on certain production techniques-certain techniques in painting, publishing and performance. These technologies are a part of artistic productivity and a stage of artistic production development. They involve a series of social relations between art producers and the public. " [4] Obviously, Benjamin regards "artistic skills", that is, technology, as productivity in the process of artistic production, and regards it as a research factor to measure the level of artistic development. At the same time, he also believes that the productivity of art determines the production relationship of art, and the production relationship of art also affects and determines the development of artistic productivity to a certain extent. The emergence of new artistic skills will inevitably lead to changes in the mode of artistic production, thus promoting the development of art.

Benjamin's theoretical exposition of "artistic skills" is mainly reflected in his articles such as A Brief History of Photography and Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In these articles, Benjamin pointed out that with the advent of the industrial age, mechanical reproduction methods were introduced into art, such as photography and video technology. As a brand-new art production mode, these technologies have brought profound influence to traditional art and led to the decline of some traditional art forms. For example, in his book Lyric Poets in Developed Capitalist Era, Benjamin expounded the crisis faced by lyric poetry in modern capitalist era, and thought that "the acceptance conditions of lyric poetry have changed greatly, and reading and understanding have become more and more difficult." [5] But at the same time, Benjamin took movies as an example to discuss the mutual integration of art and technology in the era of mechanical reproduction, which fully reflected the great influence and impact of mechanical reproduction technology on the development of art. He regarded mechanical reproduction technology as an artistic revolutionary force and thought that "the mechanical reproduction of works of art changed the relationship between the public and art, and the most conservative relationship (such as Picasso) became the most progressive relationship (such as Chaplin)". [6]

Second, the artistic product-the disappearance of "spiritual charm" and the change of display value

In Benjamin's theory of artistic production, he believes that before the era of mechanical reproduction, artists put all their talents into creation, and the creation of artistic products only belongs to the artist's "personal" behavior. These artistic products not only show the inspiration and wisdom of artists, but also pay more attention to the "authenticity" of artistic products themselves, that is, artistic products are unique and unrepeatable when they are born here and now. He accurately summarized the authenticity of traditional art products with the artistic concept of "verve". In Benjamin's view, "verve" is the most fundamental aesthetic feature of traditional art products and one of the fundamental signs that traditional art is different from modern art.

Regarding the definition of "gas field", Benjamin once said in the article "A Brief History of Photography" written by 193 1: "What is gas field? The strange entanglement of time and space, the unique appearance of distant things, although far away, are just around the corner. Rest at noon in summer, along the arc of the mountain on the horizon, or along a branch projected on the viewer, until' this moment' becomes part of the image-this is the spirit of breathing distant mountains and branches. " [7] This is the first time that Benjamin expounded the concept of "charm", and then he described it many times in "Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". In Benjamin's description, the understanding of "charm" of artistic products is mainly reflected in three aspects: on the one hand, artistic products with "charm" must be "unique", with here and now and authenticity; Secondly, the "charm" of art products makes traditional art products have permanent "authority"; On the other hand, the worship based on the art product "here and now" is an important way to produce the charm of traditional art, which is also the unique and initial use value of traditional art products. However, after the emergence of mechanical reproduction technology, traditional art products were copied in large quantities. The appearance of these replicas quickly dispelled the "charm" value of traditional art products, and the "authenticity" of art products was destroyed by the large number of replicas. The "worship" value of traditional art products based on "aura" is also greatly reduced with the disappearance of "aura" value. With the beginning of large-scale mechanical reproduction, the possibility of artistic product display has greatly increased, the "charm" of artistic products has gradually dissipated, and the worship value of artistic products has gradually been replaced by the display value. As Benjamin said in the article "Works of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", "Mechanical reproduction liberates works of art from parasitic attachment to ceremonies for the first time in the world." [8] In his view, the quantitative change of artistic products caused by mechanical reproduction has constituted the qualitative change of artistic products.

Third, art consumption-the rise of popular culture

Before the era of mechanical reproduction, works of art could not be mass-produced like other commodities, and the consumption of works of art only belonged to a few social elites and had nothing to do with ordinary people. Traditional works of art are things with "spiritual charm" and strong worship value. They always keep a certain distance from the appreciator. In the era of mechanical reproduction, the situation began to change fundamentally. The "charm" and worship value of traditional works of art are gradually dissolved by mechanical batch copying, and the public can realize the possession of works of art through replicas. In the era of mechanical reproduction, the industrialization of art has been realized, and the consumers of art-the general public has become the object of attention, and the artistic needs of the public have received unprecedented attention.

Benjamin personally experienced the earth-shaking changes brought by the industrial revolution and science and technology to culture and art, and also witnessed the changes in the status of the audience in this process. Paying attention to the consumption of art and the audience of consuming art has become an important part of Benjamin's art production theory.

In Benjamin's theory of artistic production, he regards artistic activities as an interactive process between artistic production and art consumption. Therefore, on the one hand, Benjamin emphasized the dominant position of art creators, but at the same time, he also emphasized the important role of the public as art consumers. In the article "The Author as an Art Producer", he clearly pointed out that the relationship between art producers and consumers constitutes the idea of art production relations. Readers and audiences are consumers of art, artistic creation is production, and artistic appreciation is consumption. Benjamin also believes that readers and audiences are not passive recipients of artistic products, but collaborators and active participants in the process of artistic production. Therefore, revolutionary artists should actively guide artistic production, and actively encourage consumers to participate in artistic production in addition to applying new artistic technologies in artistic creation.

Four. conclusion

Wang Yichuan, a scholar, once commented on Benjamin in his book Language Utopia: A Probe into the Aesthetics of Western Linguistics in the 20th Century: "Benjamin's attempt to keep art political and combative is commendable, especially in the era when the resistance of Western Marxists is declining." [9] Walter? Benjamin put forward his own unique theory of artistic production on the basis of criticizing and absorbing Marxist literary theory. He applied the historical materialism of the interaction between productive forces and production relations to the field of artistic production, and constructed a new artistic research perspective for us in the era of mechanical reproduction. This is very instructive for us to study the essence and functional changes of art.

refer to

[1][ Germany] Marx. 1844 economic philosophy manuscript [M]. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1985: 78.

[2][ Germany] Marx and Engels. Selected Works of Marx and Engels (Volume II) [M]. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1955: 9.

[3] Zhu Liyuan. Contemporary western literary theory [M]. Shanghai: East China Normal University Press, 1997: 207.

[4] Walter? Benjamin. Artistic works in the era of technological reproduction. Hu improper translation [M]. Hangzhou: Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, 2005: 84.

[5][ Germany] Walter? Benjamin, a lyric poet in the era of developed capitalism. Translated by Zhang Xudong [M]. Shanghai: Sanlian Life Bookstore, 1989: 1 13.

[6][ Germany] Walter? Translated by Benjamin and Xu Qiling. Facing the era of halo disappearance [M]. Nanning: Guangxi University Press, 2003: 46.

[7][ Germany] Walter? Translated by Benjamin and Xu Qiling. Facing the era of halo disappearance [M]. Nanning Guangxi University Press 2003: 32.

[8][ Germany] Walter? Translated by Benjamin and Xu Qiling. Facing the era of halo disappearance [M]. Nanning: Guangxi University Press, 2003: 65.

[9] Wang Yichuan. Utopia of Language: Aesthetic Exploration of Western Linguistics in the 20th Century [M]. Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House, 1994: 277.