Evolution of artistic media

        I feel like this reading was essentially saying that media changes and evolves alongside human society and technology. I think it’s interesting that the author disagrees with Walter Benjamin on the topic of art losing its “aura” when reproduced; I interpreted this as the author suggesting that the development of reproducible art (including photography and film) is simply a step in the evolution of artistic “language.” The reproducibility of art certainly makes it more easily accessible to regular people who can’t necessarily view the photographed subject or original artwork in person. I do think that art can lose some aspect of its unique presence when it is reproduced (as Benjamin would say) but I don’t believe that destroys any effect the piece has; the poster of “Starry Night” in my dorm room can make me feel the same emotions as the real painting. The difference is just that the original piece would also carry with it the authority of a Van Gogh original and the awe that comes with beholding the piece in person.

        I think the changes in media and media technology are directly related to the speeding-up of everyday life in human society. Things moved slower in the days of daguerreotypes, without cars in common use and certainly no email or telephone. As technology advanced and ways of communicating became more and more instantaneous, so too did the types of art and media that arose become more and more about immediacy and keeping attention. Film, of course, is the current endpoint of that development, directly communicating what we should look at and how we should feel at every moment in a piece.

        The author says, “With the TV commercial we have an interesting occurrence. The creation of a consumer culture presented in a medium that is some sense also defining the global media mythos.” In 2012, Coca-Cola released an advertisement called “Security Cameras”, in which we see different scenes captured by security cameras around the world. The premise is that security cameras often capture terrible things but sometimes they capture sweet moments as well. As a piece of multimedia art, this video is commentary on the good things about humanity, and about love and friendship. At the same time, we must remember that it’s a Coca-Cola advertisement, marketing the “happiness” found by drinking the soda. “Security Cameras” is an advertisement promoting consumerism packaged in a multimedia art form that is specific to the most recent developments in human society and technology.