![]() ![]() The new theses of art would render fascism dysfunctional because it would diminish the importance of creativity and genius, eternal value and mystery, concepts traditionally associated with the work of art. Benjamin feels that the change in the mode of production demands the formulation of new theses which would outline the propensities behind the creation of art in the transformed economic environment. He writes that according to Marx capitalism would not only cause ruthless exploitation of the proletariat, it would also lead to the generation of conditions which would ultimately cause its own destruction. The fact that Benjamin persistently reworked the essay indicates that he was constantly analysing and re-analysing the political potential of contemporary art forms.īenjamin begins the essay with Marx’s prognostications about capitalism. He worked on the essay from 1935 to 1939 and produced three versions. Therefore, it is only inevitable that as a response to the political turmoil he experienced and suffered, he would envision the work of art in his ongoing projects as an active political instrument. Benjamin was deeply affected by the extremely politically tumultuous situation in France. Walter Benjamin wrote “The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility” during his years of exile in France from Nazi Germany. ![]()
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