" This essay encapsulates the concept of the historical identity of a work as its "aura", which is eliminated by modern media such as film and photography.
A key metaphor in this essay is a comparison between the work of magicians, who keep great distance from their patients on account of their authority, and that of surgeons, who penetrate deeply into their patient through their cuts. This essay notes that even though the Romans and medieval clerics saw the same items as objects of veneration and idolatry, respectively, they recognized their uniqueness in each case. This essay opens with a quote from Paul Valéry stating that "for the last (*) twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial." This essay encapsulates the concept of the historical identity of a work as its "aura", which is eliminated by modern media such as film and photography. For 10 points, name this essay discussing the change of the meaning of art in the modern world, written by Walter Benjamin.
A key metaphor in this essay is a comparison between the work of magicians, who keep great distance from their patients on account of their authority, and that of surgeons, who penetrate deeply into their patient through their cuts.
"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (or Reproducibility)" [or Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit]