The analogy the “magician and surgeon compare to painter and cameraman” is thought-provoking and in order to dissect it the whole essay must be understood. In his essay he suggests that in the age of Mechanical Reproduction where ceremony and formality is detached from the creation of art, and what one must invest to create art. One of Benjamin’s main ideas is the loss of “aura” that accompanies reproducible art. Benjamin associates aura with cult value stating: “Artistic production begins with ceremonial objects destined to serve in a cult. One may assume that what mattered was their existence, not their being on view.” With this assertion he clearly makes a case for how photography undermines the sentiment of the original and the aura of…show more content… Benjamin is relating how a cameraman is surgical in that he uses sliced up and open sections. A cameraman has the ability to utilize camera edits and variations in distance fluidly for example all while remaining invisible. This these abilities it gives the option to alter the duration of time, space and the perspective. One the other hand, the painter’s painting is by contrast synthetic and stagnant because it will always be the particular view held by the painter. The painter can only capture a single instance in time, and regardless the art form; landscape, abstract, etc. all were left to the imagination and interpretation of the painter. Directors like Sergei Eisenstein utilized the abilities of the cameraman to invoke emotion from the manipulation of reality and inciting powerful emotion from viewers of the film. A great example of how a cameraman can penetrate deep into the web of reality is the very iconic Odessa Steps scene from Eisenstein’s masterpiece Battleship Potemkin. Eisenstein utilizes montage editing technique to transform a single strip of film. A painter can only capture a single finite instance of…show more content… The magician must also have talents to capture reality in a way that remains a “natural distance” away from reality much like the painter. Benjamin states “The magician heals a sick person by the laying on of hands; the surgeon cuts into the patient’s body.” He then follows that statement by saying a magician only narrows the distance to the patient rather than cut, slice and manipulate. The magician heals with divine abilities lending him the aura. Meanwhile, the operation the surgeon performs is cold, mechanical and reproducible as he completes multiple operations a day. The talents of the cameraman are similar. He is able to capture reality, and with technological advancements duplicate that film, on a whim. While the painter’s creation has an aura it is not reality which gives it that sense of wonder. As a spectator one is held in awe of the painting or in the miracle because of this extraordinary ability. Benjamin argues that it is because of this that a painting has more value stemming from its
