In the essay Intention and Artifice and The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, William J. Mitchell and Walter Benjamin make several similar arguments.
Although their essays are different and discuss different aspects of the art world, both essays may be connected with each other, in their way. The main similarity is that they both make similar arguments about the progression of reproduction of art works and will generally make these arguments by discussing different types of art works, such as photography.
Mitchell and Benjamin discuss the evolution of the reproduction of artworks through time, in different style. This aspect of their essays helps the readers understand the issue that they are discussing. The authors briefly begin with the artworks from the Greek era. During this period, the Greeks had two ways of reproduction, which were founding and stamping. The only artworks that the Greeks were able to reproduce in large amounts were coins, bronzes and terra cottas. Apart from these three types of artworks, all the other artworks were unique and couldn't be reproduced mechanically. For example, artworks, such as the sculpture Laocoon and his Sons, were so large that the Greeks were unable to reproduce.
However, it was with the help of woodcut that graphic art would eventually become mechanically reproducible for the first time. The Middle Ages brought etching and engravings, which were included to the woodcut. At the turn of the nineteenth century, lithography helped artworks to be more easily reproducible and accessible. This procedure helped the reproduction process considerably. The procedure of reproducing artworks was accelerated so much “that it could keep pace with speech.” (Benjamin) One reproducible artwork is films, which were first referred to as "moving pictures". Then, came the time when these artworks could be digitally replicated and made with the help of technology, such as computers. The digital replication era is gradually taking the place of the mechanical replication ear.
Though this discussion is important, in order to understand other aspects of art, it isn't the main subject matter if the authors' essays. However, the authors focus more on discussing today's technology and various types of artworks, mainly photography.
Mitchell and Benjamin don't give a precise or explicit definition of photography or explain exactly how to do it, for instance. Yet they do characterize it and any kind of technology it may involve, in a more general way, and give their readers a better understanding of what photography is.
To begin understanding photography, in his essay Intention and Artifice, one of Mitchell's reasoning explains more of the subject matter of a photograph. . The author says that, “a photograph is a photograph of something.” he means that every photograph shows something, that every photograph has a subject, though some are unclear and it is difficult to see what is in the picture.
The author gives an example, in order to help the readers understand his meaning. His example is when US Navy fighters took photographs of Libyan MiG-23s off the Libyan coast and were shot down, in 1989. The MiG-23s were shot down, because the US Navy believed that they were armed. However, what appears on the pictures is unclear. Yet there is something that appears in the pictures taken by the US Navy.
Though the photographs do reveal something, there may be absolutely no truth in it. The photograph may be completely fabricated. To explain more about the truth of something, Mitchell refers to Aristotle's definition of truth. Aristotle said that, “to say of what is that it is, or to say of what is not that it is not, is the truth; but to say of what is not that it is, or to say of what is that it is not, is a falsehood”. (Mitchell) However right this statement of Aristotle may be, we may never know what to say or not to say of these photographs of MiG-23 planes, other than the photographs are very unclear. But this doesn't stop people from conjecturing.
Benjamin mentions something that was contributed by Atget. He was a photographer, who went out in the streets of Paris and took pictures, around 1900. In The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, the author explains that, “with Atget, photographs become standard evidence for historical occurrences, and acquire a hidden political significance.” In some ways, the Libyan MiG-23s example is a good instance to support this statement. This event is very much a political issue, mostly likely acquired a certain amount of "hidden political significance". The conflict occurred at a UN meeting and was mainly between Libya and the United States. Other than the people who work at the UN or have a government job, there probably weren't many people who were well aware or knew everything of this disagreement at the time. However, it is difficult, perhaps to early, to say if it will ever achieve "historical occurrence".
