“Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.”
This reminded me of my thought process in creating the different versions of project 2. Although, they are perfect reproduction of the original with a slight difference in sounds, each videos felt original and separate from each other. My choice of sounds played an important role in sending a different message for each video. We can argue that this does not really apply to Benjamin’s view of mechanical reproduction since I did minor changes. But let’s say that I released 10 copies of my original video. I would argue that the “aura” from the original is transferred to that of the 10 copies. Having the original copy could make it feel authentic and valuable, but the purpose of this medium is to deliver a message to the people watching it, regardless if it’s the original version or not. The purpose and thought process in making the video does not stay with the original file, it stays with the video wherever it goes and it is up to the audience to perceive and judge whether it is worth its value.
Review of Hamza’s Video:
The composition works well on featuring the subject(Hamza) as the main focus. It is great to see the use of mirrors to contrast the left and right side of the composition. In some scenes, however, it feels awkward that there is no symmetry which forces my eye to wander around. But, overall, it was balanced even the walking shots that are hard to pull off because of the camera shakiness. Since this is a public scene, the artist has no control on the objects inside the frame. With that being said, Hamza was able to showcase these objects as part of his workout routine. Although this looks really simple because you are supposed to use them, it delves deeper than that. If we look at it as a part of the theme of “Time”, it’s a symbol of progress and continuity. We see this progress when we are introduced to the different facilities and equipments of the gym. However, it would be a little bit better if we saw more of this progress. For example, a clip of moving from a 10 pound dumbbell to a 50 pound. This would help shortening the time span for a progress to be “viewable” because we get a summary of what he has accomplished.