One
of Walter Benjamin's most notable ides in "The Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction" is that of the aestheticization of politics. This
notion is discussed by Benjamin through the concept of "aura" and its loss
(see: loss of the aura).
The loss of the aure, the onetimness of the work of art which establishes a
certain relation to it, is described by Benjamin is a part of a material
process of technological and therefore cultural change which is not restricted
to art alone. Art only heralds this change which degenerates the experience of
authenticity and the shift into mass consumerism of aesthetics. The new forms
of art, photography and cinema, bring about a new type of collective reception.
In a sense, for Benjamin, you are how you see your art, and you are something
completely different when you stand in front of original art than when you are
sitting in front of the TV.
Fascism
and capitalism exploit this function of art to their own needs by using its
logic. Through the conditions of reception formed by the aura. Capitalism uses
the force of the aura to position the individual as self contained, self
dependant and able (as opposed to his true social condition) while fascism uses
it to completely erase the individual. Both capitalism and fascism practice what
Benjamin calls aestheticization of politics.
The
Marxist counteraction to the aestheticization of politics according to Benjamin
should be the politicization of the aesthetic. The politicization of the aesthetic
is conducted in two manners: by identifying and resisting the ways art is
exploited and by identifying its revolutionary potential. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" is in itself such an attempt to
politicize aesthetics. The structure of culture is, for Benjamin, the structure
of society. While in fascism the art comes from the leader, Marxist art should
originate from the people.
See also: Baudrillard on "Consumer Society"