So, read “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Walter Benjamin. He was a much easier read than the other Walter. There wasn’t much to respond to in reading his paper. The main section gave a fairly accurate and interesting description of what’s happened when moving from older forms of art to more modern forms.
Where the interesting bit comes in is in his preface and epilogue. Let’s start w/ his preface. He presents the idea that ‘creativity and genius’ are no longer usable or practical terms. I’d be forced to disagree there. They both are still valid and indeed, should be used in my opinion. He also says that about ‘eternal value and mystery’. I’m not sure about eternal value. I might have to agree with him on that one. I can’t see anything as having value forever. Mystery, i feel no way about.
The war bit at the end in his epilogue was kind of funny. The Marinetti quote just made me think… “Alright, if war is so beautiful, let’s see you go and enrich a flowering meadow on the front lines.” Sounds like a guy who does alot of talking, but not alot of doing.
Also, I’m not sure I got where he was going with all the Fascist talk. I didn’t quite get that. Felt like just oh-so-much-ranting.