CodySchrierDESMA9 - Blog 3

 Blog 3 

Machines have had a constant importance and improvement throughout history that has helped shape our world in so many different ways. Professor Vesna touches on this directly in the Intro Video stating that "everything we do is related to manufacturing" (Vesna 0:21). The earliest known process of mechanization can be tied to Gutenberg and the printing press. Having the printing press available meant ideas and knowledge was going to be spread at a much easier rate and shifted work to be much more machine based. Just about 40 pages were able to be printed daily before the printing press, after the invention is moved to about 1,600 pages a day which is a vast difference.  There was also a production and reproduction change in art where not any art piece could be reproduced and look just like the original piece. In The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction, Douglas David says that "any video, audio, or photogenic work of art can be endlessly produced" (David 382). 

The printing press was just the beginning of the inventions as next we saw many household appliances come to life along with, office tools, cars, and AC systems. All these inventions changed the way we lived our everyday lives. Having the mechanization process now opened the door to produce goods in masses along with appliances. Through Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, he recognizes the effects of mass production and says "mass production systems influence culture, art, and the way we work in general" (Vesna 12:49). 

Ultimately, as said in Lecture 1, the printing press was the start and the "beginning of assembly line production," (Vesna 1:47) which gave Henry Ford the ability to create cars through assembly lines in 1940. This whole assembly line process made for these workers to be "treated like they were apart of the machine" (Vesna 1:28, Lecture 2). As a worker, it was not an amazing feeling being treated this way, almost like a machine, but for the buyers of these goods it was amazing having them cheaper and easily accessible. Looking at both sides of the picture we can see the pros and the cons this shift towards mechanization has. 

With mass production now happening, items were made cheaper and much more accessible which meant people of all incomes were able to have popular goods. Authenticity became pretty much non-existent with the shift towards mechanization and mass production. Walter Benjamin went on to say "the technique of reproduction detached the reproduced object from the domain of tradition," which referred to our culture and traditions becoming altered because of this (Benjamin 1). After an item was produced, it was not seen as valuable because it could be so easily reproduced. 

Resources:

“1940 Ford - Frame Off Restoration - Original California Car.” Classic Cars LTD, https://classiccarsltd.com/vehicles/1940-ford-restored-california-car/ . Accessed 16 Apr. 2024. 

Benjamin , Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” 2018, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781912284894. 

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, p. 381., https://doi.org/10.2307/1576221. 

“Encyclopædia Britannica, First Edition, Art: Printing Press.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024. 

Kaya, Kayahan. “Robots Replacing Mankind. Machines vs Humans. Factory Workers Protesting Machines.” Dreamstime, https://www.dreamstime.com/machines-vs-humans-robots-replacing-mankind-factory-workers-protesting-image128517360  . Accessed 16 Apr. 2024. 

Vesna, Victoria. Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetic / robotic art. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024. 

Vesna, Victoria. Robotics Intro. YouTube, UC Online, https://youtu.be/dJcPtv7tnKY . Accessed 16 Apr. 2024. 

Vesna, Victoria. Robotics Part 2. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.