(see V& A post re camera-less photographing)
Tautological -repeating the same thing
Walter Benjamin 1892
Works of art can be reproduced in large numbers so become assessable to all, these come in many ways as postcards used in advertisement's in this case helps to sell a product, wallpaper etc.
Walter Benjamin states that the process of picture reproduction was freed from the artist and accelerated as the camera lens could capture instantaneously. While authenticity perquisite to the presence of the original is outside technical reproducibly the reproduction process i.e. the photo makes it independent from the original. This means that a copy of the original photo can be used outside its original contexts, although then the quality of the original is depreciated.
The aura is natural to art work mechanical reproduction of artwork eliminates this from the reproductions. Society is passionate to overcome the uniqueness of reality by accepting reproductions Benjamin states
"To pry an object from its shell to destroy its aura is a mark of perception whose ' sense of quality of things' has increased to such a degree that it extracts it even from a unique object be means of reproduction ".
I think that there is no substitute for a visit to a gallery to experience the real work even if it is not in its original setting in a way it is a kind of pilgrimage for those unable to travel to see the works of art that are kept in private collections and galleries in other countries.
The improvement in reproduction methods and possibilities through technological advancement strengthens Benjamin's arguments making his ideas more relevant today.
The failure of the Soviets experiment does not alter the validity of Benjamin's case I think his ideas are applicable today though human perception, capitalism has changed because of historical circumstances (Marxism has not become obsolete with the collapse of the Soviet Union).
John Berger's 1926 case was a lot easy to understand, it also helped to look at the T.V. programs that I managed to see on U.Tube, although I did read Benjamin's essay 3 or 4 times being able to watch I found to easier to understand. Combined with reading both theories, In some aspects I think that being able to purchase copies of art gives you more scope to be able to study individual paintings and or artists at your leisure, also these days you are able to access galleries etc though the Internet. In some respect a work of art being removed from its original site either grows or fades in the meaning it subverts. It is no longer where or of whom the work of art was made for to it losses some of its uniqueness. Also when a camera reproduces an imagine of the work of art it destroys and thus its meaning is altered and multiplied.
Nostalgia comes to the for in art because of the camera - familiarity breeds apathy. The reproduction is used to suppress, it is used politically and commercially as mentioned before in advertisements etc. When it is used with a background of music or words it can change your perception of the painting etc as in Berger's example of Van Gough's Wheat field.
John Berger " Seeing comes before word, a child looks and recognises before it can speak" (Way's of Seeing)
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