Can Art Be Mechanically Reproduced?

When something is reproduced so many times, is this art?

No, I do not believe that if something is reproduced even once that it is art. The only art is the original production. The reproduction is just that, a reproduction. It does not produce the same effect that the original created as the original was something new, innovative, and creative. With a reproduction, you lose the original emotion that is brought forth by the art. Perhaps there is an art in reproduction, but what is reproduced cannot be considered the original art.

What’s the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art? What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society?

The importance of mechanical reproducibility of the art is how easily it can be mechanically reproduced. A painting or photograph can be much more easily reproduced mechanically then say an intricate sculpture. Mechanical reproducibility impacted society by introducing pieces of art to the general public, or society as a whole, that may have otherwise been unobtainable to certain members of society. This helped in education, entertainment and art appreciation, as well as the spread of modern currency. On all currency, there is art that must be able to be mechanically reproduced for mass collection. Without this art, we would not be able to discern the difference between a one dollar coin and a quarter, or the difference between a ten dollar note and a one hundred dollar note. Mechanical reproducibility of art has led to the wide spread acceptance and use of modern, or even pre-modern currency.

Is photography art or contribution to the art? Is it just a tool used by artists?

I believe that photography is art. The tool used by the artist is the tool used to create the photograph. The tool used to create a photograph today is a camera and any other support tools or software to refine that photograph. Just as painting is an art, and the tools used to create this art is paint, a canvas, and a brush. For a photographer, their surroundings are their paint, the camera is the brush, and these days, their computer screen is their canvas. Art is a form of expression, and photography reflects that. Each photographer has a style that is portrayed by their photographs.

How and why Henry Peach Robinson created Fading Away? What was the reason?

Henry Robinson created “Fading Away” (1858) by compositing five negatives together. It is a depiction of a family grieving over their daughter who is dying of tuberculosis. During the time, many photographers were obsessed with the scientific aspect of photography. Robinson created this photograph to celebrate the artistic, creative, and emotional side that he continued to see in photography. It was a controversial subject for a photograph, but he created it to prove photography as an art, just as painting was considered at the time, as the same image would not be deemed as taboo if it were created by a painter.

Photography has impacted the world of art and influenced some changes in the area of accessibility to art. If mechanical reproduction created revolution, what is happening now with the digitalization?

Digitalization is now offering the ability to not only replicate pieces of art, but to manipulate them and create variations of classic pieces of photography and artwork. With computer software, one can now manipulate color, form and composition with a few key strokes and clicks from a mouse. Digitalization may even be considered an art form in itself, as creativity becomes almost endless with the options and tools made available by new technologies.