Read the Walter Benjamin's essay 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'. Write a 300 word analysis of one work of Graphic Design, that you think relates to the themes of the text, and employing quotes, concepts and terminology from the text.
Answer
Milton Glaser's 'I Love New York' is in my eyes one of the most famous pieces of Graphic Design there is. It has been overused and re-printed in different formats so much that it could be argued that it has lost its “uniqueness”, which is an “aura” as described in Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction.’ This loss of aura is deemed as a bad situation, as, “that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.”
The ‘I Love New York’ logo was created in 1977, with the purpose of promoting tourism in New York State. The logo because famous after being circulated on white t-shirts. It has become far more popular than it was expected, now being a majorly successful part of American popular culture. It was however, planned with reproduction in mind, “the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility.” This mass reproduction stops the image from being seen as ‘art’, but the fact that the presentation boards and initial sketch of the logo are now in the Museum of Modern Art in New York makes it seem like part of it is ‘art’.
The logo has been re-used and changed into so many different things that it has lost its exclusivity, which is the excitement of it being used on a tourist t-shirt you can only buy when you've been on holiday to New York. This is now ruined, as “the authenticity... is jeopardized by reproduction”. The logo now appears on many different items, some quite strange, and is used in different countries, where the design does not fit well. As well as this, parodies of the design, using different symbols to display different messages are widely seen. With so many copies, the original design is not exciting, or as sought after, as, “the quality of its presence is always depreciated.”
Now this item of clothing may not seem as stylish now that everybody owns something with in this design. It no longer seems special; “mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses toward art.”
Another example of Graphic Design which now seems not as special, to have lost its “aura” is the massive amount of spin-off 'Keep Calm and Carry On' posters.
Links
http://c-griffin1013-cts.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/technology-will-liberate-us.html
Bibliography
- Barnard, M. (2005), Graphic Design as Communication (Pages 175-178), 1st edn, Oxon: Routledge
- Benjamin, W. (1936), The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction [Online] Available at: < http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm > [Accessed 14 November 2011]
- Museum of Modern Art. (2010), I (heart) New York Concept Sketch [Online] Available at: < http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=128649 > [Accessed 14 November 2011]
- Logo Design Love. (2009), I love New York logo [Online] Available at: < http://www.logodesignlove.com/i-love-new-york-logo > [Accessed 14 November 2011]
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