Creative Process Journal and The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Photo of Walter Benjamin in 1939 by Gisela Freund

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be," wrote Walter Benjamin in 1936 in an essay called "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". This essay is one of many philosophical essays written by Benjamin before his death by suicide in 1940.

The idea of the aura of the original is something that makes an artwork unique and adds value. There is a mystical quality associated with an original work of art, which can be understood by considering the  difference between seeing an artwork in person as compared to viewing it in a book or on the web.

Benjamin traces the history of the mechanical reproduction of art with founding and stamping by the Greeks, engraving and etching in the Middle Ages, and lithography in the 19th century. It was the ease with which reproduction could happen using  photography and film in the 20th century which underpinned Benjamin's analysis of how these media would shift the concept of authenticity.

An Invitation to Tell Me More

Image from saena http://onewomanonedress.com/

The title of my talk in Milan at Fashion Tales 2012 will be The Metaphysics of Blogging. What that really means is that I will be considering the philosophy of blogging - the essence of its existence as an expressive medium. Blogging seems to be a new phenomena but it is not. People have been writing diaries and keeping sketchbooks for centuries and many such documents have ended up being published or in archives for use as research tools. By reconsidering the nature of blogging and using theorists like Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault to support my argument, I hope to recast the blog as something more than just a dumping ground of images and ideas. In taking a theoretical approach to my analysis, I might put a new spin on this medium.

I'd love to hear from you, old and new bloggers alike, to tell me more about:
why you write a blog.
how you see your blog,
how you decide what to write about,
where blogging fits into your life,
what blogging has given you.

Tell me your stories and have your voice recorded as part of of fashion theory research. You can leave a comment here or email your comments/thoughts to me at fashionismymuse@me.com. I will keep all personal details confidential and will acknowledge your contribution to my research. Please pass this on to anyone you think might like to be heard.

And by the way, anyone can attend this conference in Milan. Please join me there if you are so inclined. Details are here.

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Blogging and Baudelaire

Gaga's Boudoir Window at Barney's New York by Ingrid Mida 2011

Poet Charles Baudelaire and theorist Walter Benjamin were fascinated by the concept of the flaneur, a figure who anonymously strolled through the city streets gazing into windows, embodying the concept of modernity in the specular relationship to urban space and consumer goods. I felt a bit like a flaneuse myself during my weekend jaunt to New York, strolling the city from the Museum at FIT (at 7th and 27th) up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (at 5th and 82) and stopping to admire the windows like this fabulous Gaga display at Barneys. The weather was glorious and I drank in the sunshine as if I'd recently been released from prison (which is what I equate the library I've been living in of late).

Stepping away from for a weekend was refreshing in so many ways and it re-energized me.  I also thought of all the good things that have come my way from being a blogger -  the people I've met, the exhibitions I've seen, the friends I've made.... I recently submitted an abstract for a paper called "Blogging, Benjamin and Foucault" to the Fashion Tales 2012 conference in Milan. In equating bloggers to Baudelaire’s and Benjamin's concept of the flaneur and drawing on Foucault’s theories on the aesthetics of existence, I hope to recast the blog as a creative portal and a form of conversational erudition. Call me crazy.... I don't know if it will fly, but sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff....

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.