Aesthetics of mechanical reproduction; Changing values of meaning, representation and reality; an overview.

Muhammed Shafi S

Volume : VIII, Issue : VIII, August - 2019

Aesthetics of mechanical reproduction; Changing values of meaning, representation and reality; an overview.

Muhammed Shafi S

Abstract :

It is truly critical and crucial to analyze the revolutionary and radical role of technology in defining the aesthetic experience of modern man. Printmaking has initiated mass communication of visuals, and photography has re–defined realism, creating an alternate possibility of ‘seeing’ other than physically being with the object itself. Virtual reality and other artificial platforms are further facilitating this change in unpredictable ways. Inevitably, the criteria for aesthetic appreciation has transcended its traditional norms, related to concepts like ‘originality’ and asks critical questions addressing the newer problems of aesthetics, in the background of mechanical reproduction and the irrevocable alteration it has ought to the sensorial experience of the new age. This article attempts to trace the status of these questions by analyzing the historiography of photographs, graphic prints and its relationship with the new aesthetic idiom as well.