Benjamin and the aesthetic butterfly effect

   The class discussion was amazing this week, and I really enjoyed the Benjamin reading. I thought that he brought up some interesting points, and he articulated them so clearly that I easily grasped the majority of his argument on the first reading. He really challenged me to think about the way that I perceive and consume art. One subject that he touched on in particular really caught my attention: the idea that “[the] meaning of each single picture appears to be prescribed by the sequence of all preceding ones” (Benjamin 41).  This concept that art reacts to and is largely defined by every work of art preceding it, and likewise that a single work of art has the power to influence all of the works that will be created in the future, makes sense to me. In a way, the creation of a piece of art is dependent on every work that precedes it; it is like a sort of aesthetic butterfly effect.

   To extend upon the idea, I think that it works in two separate effects. The first is to prescribe meaning, because we understand and attribute value based upon knowledge and experience informed by the past. The second is to dictate creation. The first example I thought of to illustrate this concept was the emergence of the Surrealist movement. Surrealism developed largely out of the Dada movement and also as a reaction against the highly formalistic Cubist movement. The works within these preceding movements were essential to the creation of Surrealism, and they also provided a context through which to understand the Surrealist movement’s origins and values.

   The reaction of each work of art to the past is also interesting when considered in relation to capital and consumerism; as art has been commoditized and pieces of art have been created for the purpose of mass consumption, and classic works of art have been capitalized upon and transformed into products of consumption, Benjamin’s concept would dictate that all works of art in the future will be influenced (either in meaning, creation, or both) by these works. It’s interesting to consider the effect this will have on future artistic movements and, in essence, the future of art.