Jiggy Benjamin

What is art in the modern age? Today we can find art in a google search or in a fine art muesuem, but as Benjamin illustrates, the aura is being lost. Standing in front of the Mona Lisa generates a feeling and sensation that cannot be duplicated in a reproduction or a simple JPEG image. In accient cultures all art was unique with no possible means of duplication, meaning if you were seeing it with your own eyes it was the real deal. Today art has hit the mass market with paintings being sold at Wal-Mart for $9.99 and artists being pressured to produce quanity instead of quality. This digital age is not a market for painters and creators of art. Image if Michaelangelo lived in 2008, would he be able to create the works he did 500 years ago? Seems unlikely considering the state of our global digital community. Appreciation for art has decreased with its insurtion into our everyday life. It wasnt long ago that people would travel to art muesuems to see unique peices of art, today there is a decrease in awareness. The aura is lost because of its flushing in the mass market and mass production. Artists are not only creating art for the public but more than ever for corporations advertisments and billboards. The artist has become apart of the corprate world, a tool for sales instead of skilled public figure.