Passage 2 of Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction interests me. His idea is that a reproduced artwork doesn’t compare to the originals, as it loses its uniqueness from that time and space. I totally agree with this statement because there’s an element of awe when you see detailed artworks or sculptures from centuries ago. Knowing that these artists were able to create something so realistic or convey strong feelings through their work adds to the artwork’s aura and story. So, a replica doesn’t invoke the same feelings because the artists of these replicas are trying to copy the same paint strokes and aren’t able to paint with conviction.

What I like about Russolo’s The Art of Noises is that he isn’t afraid to make bold opinions on music. He claimed that industrial sounds from machinery and urban noise had a place in music and that it’s not too rough to be liked. With the influence of Neubauten, industrial music popularized, showcasing the transition of periods between the industrial revolution and the age of information. Russolo’s excitement for this change showed his defiance and maybe boredom with the current classical music, he understood that all types of sounds had the art and ability to convey different emotions.

A topic suggested in this 2008 documentary is that large corporations have too much control over creative content, restricting how people can use and share media. This is prevalent to this day, even stronger in my opinion, with how social media platforms are quick to copyright strike and take down content. For example, YouTubers have to be strict on what music they can include in their videos, vlogger’s especially have a more challenging time as songs that are playing in the background of a coffee shop they’re in could get their video taken down. While this is an inconvenience to work around, this gives smaller artists the spotlight to provide copyright free songs and beats that are safe for YouTube. Another point in the remix manifesto is that culture builds on the past. This means to me that all current and future works will have taken inspiration from the past. We see this in the trends of fashion and style where something 10-20 years ago is getting popular again. Artists have taken beats and snippets of old songs and remixed them into their own work adding their own personal flare to it.