I had coffee with a good friend, Paul, a few weeks ago to catch
up and hear about his recent trip to Paris. For years, Paris has been a “bucket list”
travel destination for me and even more so after the 2024 Summer Olympics brought
the city into my living room on television every night for several weeks. In hearing about Paul’s many tourist-stops
that included dinner inside the Eiffel Tower, a dinner cruise on the Seine
River and a tour of the Palace of Versailles, I was somewhat surprised when he
told me that his visit to the Louvre Museum was his favorite part of the trip
and how he couldn’t believe that seeing the Mona Lisa in person “took his
breath away”.
As I read through the article in this week’s Module, this brought
to life Walter Benjamin’s general argument about the effect of mechanical reproduction
of art. Had Paul not seen replicas of the original artwork from Leonardo da
Vinci? Of course he had. Pop culture has created reproductions of the famous
painting, inclusive of a silkscreen printing process by Andy Warhol that was eventually
donated to The Met in New York City.
When I asked Paul why he was so moved by the original, he
told me that the uniqueness of knowing that he was viewing the original was an
experience that he simply couldn’t put into words. Was it, as Benjamin would argue, the unique
presence in time and space and the “aura” of the original art? Most likely.
Will I be moved the way Paul was when I eventually take the trip to the “City
of Love”? I certainly hope so. The closest I have come to this feeling is
the first time I visited the Statue of Liberty.
The only word I could use to describe it was “majestic”. I’ve seen Lady Liberty on everything from a
US coin to a postcard in a souvenir shop and countless times on television. But seeing this structure for the very first
time (which ironically was a gift from France) was something I will never
forget.
What original artwork have you seen in person that left you
speechless the first time you saw it?
The only original I have ever seen was a bob ross original which seemed to have the more effort then replicates. When you think about the original is the effort that this person went through to make the painting's. I have a few paintings that my dad has done in my house and I love them because it was his love that he made them for me one of things he did was paint me and my wife i still have it and love having it in my house. With original art it feels more of the love and effort from the painting itself it's an interesting effect of looking at the original artwork.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this post I was instantly reminded of my experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I spent two days at this museum and was completely mesmerized by the realness. I now recognize this is the aura Benjamin speaks of. It's one thing to see fake Greek busts at T.J. Maxx but to stand face to face with an ancient one is a completely new feeling. The painting that did it for me was Washington Crossing the Delaware, which I wasn't aware was just over 12 ft by 21 ft large. Walking into its display room literally took my breath away.
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