Task two; Benjamin & mechanical reproduction.

British government 1939. 

This piece of graphic design relates to the text by Walter Benjamin in many ways because it is something that has been massively reproduced over the years whether it be online or physically. 'Affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in the very notion of art' this is a quote that describes mechincal reproduction and what it may be capable of. Although through factors such as the internet it has brought about this amazing change in the notion of art, there is also the arguement that not all aspects are good because mechanical reproduction is taking away the tradition that art holds. This poster i've chosen was produced for the second world war to strengthen morale, there was 2,500,00 copies made and because they were printed this piece of work has technically always been reproducable but not in the way that we know it today. 'One might subsume the eliminated element in the term 'aura' and go on to say: that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art'. This quote states that mechanical reproduction takes away the aura of an artwork which is a very important aspect that an original has. Artworks have aura because they are believed to be made of uniqueness, creativity, genius, value, mystery, authenticity and authority. When this piece of graphic design was originally created, it had meaning and value in the sense that after the world war it would always be linked to what people at the time went through, it would act maybe as a marker of history for those who knew its true meaning. It also had authority because it was created by the government as a suggestion for how people should react. Due to mechnical reproduction this aura has been destroyed because this poster was re-discovered in 2000 and has become part of popular culture because it has been applied to a range of different products. The aura has been further more destroyed because little of the audience know where it actually comes from and its becoming known for popularity rather than being connected to the world war two.