Capturing The Aura

German philosopher Walter Benjamin in his 1931 essay “Short History of Photography,” discusses the concept of aura. Since Benjamin’s writing was cryptic, Alex Robins provides an interpretation of the word:

[Benjamin] observes that unique objects, like devotional fetishes or hand-crafted items, are perceived to have an ineffable quality that is proportional to being one of a kind. The film image, however, is not unique and lacks this quality of aura. What the increasing presence of film in society has done to art is to make its aura wane.(1)

This article is included in the Metalsmith magazine Vol 43 No 3.