Friday, July 15, 2022

Giverny in Skaneateles


Giverny in Skaneateles (photograph: Hallie Cohen)

Is there a bright side to the ersatz over the authentic? Walter Benjamin famously wrote "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” whose title addresses the very question. Modernity facilitates the ability to copy and duplicate with increasing degrees of exactitude. The 3-D printer is one of the miracles of modern technology. Of course forgers exemplify the dark side of this phenomenon. Intellectual property rights are becoming increasingly difficult to protect. But why is a replica inferior? This may be one of the underlying messages of Pop and certainly Warhol. Is there not a democratization implicit in reproduction? Would it be better if large crowds had not partaken of the Van Gogh Immersive Experience? Art historians and connoisseurs push back on this kind of thinking but let’s say you go to a hotel like the Skaneateles Mirbeau which recreates Giverny outside the dining room. Can you enjoy breakfast overlooking a faux garden? Are you prepared for the pleasures of a second-hand experience?

Read "The Real Thing" by Francis Levy, HuffPost

and watch the animation of Erotomania


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