The Aura Of Uniqueness By Walter Benjamin

At the crest of the Church of the Gesù in Rome, an aureate burst attracts an equivalent infinity of attention to the infinity of light that it emits. Borne of Italian baroque painter Giovanni Battista “Baciccio” Gaulli, this aureate burst is the center of the illusionistic ceiling fresco Triumph of the Name of Jesus. It is initially unclear what is being beheld, but it demands attention nonetheless. By simultaneously depicting and inciting the spectacle of this aureate burst, Gaulli arouses a discussion of the nature of visual representation and the fundamental role of a viewer. Gaulli asserts his position as an artist and emphasizes the viewer’s duty to an image—and to an artist—by demanding the viewer to include themselves among the enamored

In art, there are qualities that speak louder than words. It expresses many different messages and emotions and each person has an experience different from the next. In this paper, I will be discussing two artworks I encountered. The piece is a good example of how people can encounter different experiences in one piece. I attended the Orlando Museum of Art a while back with family and overall enjoyed my experience. On my visit, I found the museum quite impressive and felt a deep connection with specific pieces.

Individuality is the quality that people that makes each person unique and distinguishable from each other. It is important to remain distinct from others, even among groups of people that are classified as either the same or very similar. While individuality is a concept that many people agree with and want to ensure, the pressure from most people’s lives, including their environment and the people around them, forces individuals to lose who they truly are and morph in order to fit in. I strongly agree that individuality, while important, is difficult to keep because of outside factors, a concept that was presented by Logan Fey.

Brands, H.W.. The first American: the life and times of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Doubleday,

Commonly, people believe that Thomas Jefferson is a hypocrite, due to the fact that one of his most famous quotes is “all men are created equal”. Although that was one of his famous quotes, he owned slaves all throughout his lifetime. The topic over slavery including Thomas Jefferson is extremely controversial today in America.

This illustrates how now, people were placing an importance on what was previously discarded just because the Western thought just became open to accommodate such works in their idea of art. From this stance, art is arbitrary and suits the whims of Western art historians. The object is still the same, but now the Western world deems it to be of value, which exemplifies Dean’s argument that we are looking at pieces through our eyes and not the way it was meant to be seen. Just the idea of labeling an item of art may have interior motive-If this piece is capable of preservation, can my name be remembered for its discovery? Is there monetary gain stemming from this

“The crews walked the blocks of the neighborhood, loud and rude, because it was only through their loud rudeness that they might feel any sense of security and power.” (Coates, p. 22) This quote from “Between The World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi shows young men in the streets who wear flashy jewelry, clothes, and act cool to fit in and get into Trouble, which makes them feel powerful and have security. It’s only in these groups, being loud, that they can have that. It relates to the behavior of the author feelings because of the writer felt like he had a hard time with dealing with who he really is. Each race has its own group and faces the challenges of which group to fit in, in order to know who they really are as a person.

If ever a story embodied what has come to be known as the American Dream, it is the life story of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin could be considered a passionate and energetic man who motivated himself by self-determination and a strong work ethic to achieve self-improvement. Beyond his sometimes-lofty personal aspirations to attain self-improvement, Franklin’s deep conviction inspired him to help others live well. He demonstrated this conviction in his reasons for writing, his willingness to portray his mistakes as well as his successes as a means of instruction, his recounting of the assistance he gave to others, and his desire to create useful solutions. Franklin successfully used his story to depict this

During my visit to the Tampa Museum of Art, I observed and viewed various pieces from The Classical World exhibit. While I observed numerous works, I was drawn to a specific piece due to its uniqueness when compared to the other pieces in the exhibit. In this paper, I will be describing The Torso of Aphrodite, using my own viewpoints and the elements of formal art analysis, in order to explain the uniqueness when compared to other pieces in The Classical World exhibit.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Milk Street, Boston on January 6, 1706. Throughout his existence Franklin exemplified a life of self-improvement. His eagerness to improve himself trickled over into his eagerness to help others improve themselves. Franklin was the youngest son of his father’s 17 children. Coming from such an enormous family, his education ended at the age of ten years old. At the age of twelve Franklin began to work alongside of his brother James. When the two of them did not get along, Franklin soon left and headed to New York for a short time and eventually moved to Philadelphia. This move to Philadelphia leads Mr. Franklin to a series of diverse jobs. After several attempts at mismatched jobs, Benjamin

Benjamin Franklin is considered one of the most realistic and wisest men in the history of America. He is known for his stand on the necessity for the individual to work hard and to be frugal in order to reach success. In the presented essay, “The Way to Wealth”, he makes mention of various aphorisms and pieces of advice which express his views and opinions about morals, ethics, life, taxes, debts, etc. Among those pieces of advice that he offers his audience, we find the phrase “employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour.” Although much of his work is devoted to the importance of industry and of frugality, here Franklin discusses the difference between being lazy and having leisure. He places emphasis on how without working hard and in a conscious way, the individual will never be able to have time for pastimes or leisure. Instead of viewing laziness and fun as the ultimate goal an individual must aim for, Franklin advices about using the time in a profitable way. To him, labor brings more comfort than idleness or laziness, as when the individual is idle or bored, he manages to commit mischief. Moreover, it is his belief that one cannot just be in a useless position the whole time, lest poverty and necessity strike. Therefore, Franklin argues, it is important to find useful things to do with one’s time, but things that bring enjoyment, in order for one to work hard at them. Once the

‘ The Invisible Hand’. It just relates to a one person. Obvious that is Adam Smith. Even though, after ten years or thousand years the economists will recall Adam Smith. Moreover, if you visit United Kingdom you can recognize Adam Smith face in the 50 and 20 pounds. ‘Man is an animal that makes bargains”- Adam Smith (Brainy Quote, (n.d)). That is underling the people’s instinct when they make a deal. “A person, who received his education through hard work, is like an expensive Car’- Adam Smith (Brainy Quote, (n.d)). Adam Smith encouraged people to improve their education and work hard to differentiate in the workplace. Adam had distinctive ideas and recognition at a glance in the economic world. Thus, Smith presented his thought in his famous book The Wealth of Nations. This book is an important foundation for the modern economy. On the other hand, Adam Smith’s character traits, he was brilliant and accomplished. Also, he was so close to his mother. Adam Smith is founder father of modern economy.

Art is all around us. There are many different forms of art. It can be something created, captured, or it can be already existent. Not a single person is to say what makes something art because there is a different definition for everyone. However, there are a couple factors that come into mind whenever someone decides to declare something as art. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting four different pieces of art. I will be discussing each art piece’s form, time period of creation, intention or purpose, and value. These four pieces of art are Michelangelo’s Pieta, Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, Mark Rothko’s No.61, and the “Oyster Dress” by Alexander McQueen. These works of art come in all different shapes and sizes but they are valued

Frantz Fanon’s “The Fact of Blackness,” a chapter from Black Skin, White Masks describes the anxiety felt while held in the gaze of the colonizer. A reading of Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble in conjunction with Fanon’s work raises questions and possible strategies on how to reject neocolonialism and contemporary white supremacy. Fanon’s idea of blackness is performative but not for the gain of the black man, rather for the white man. Butler suggests that regaining control of the black man’s fate comes from interpellation, the act, of interrupting the white man’s claims or ideas, or rather their misconceptions of the black man. A way of disregarding the white man’s claims is a form of rejecting that normativity, similar to Butler’s analysis of drag where one rejects normativity altogether. The black man’s lack of interpellation enhances the white man’s performativity furthering white supremacy; a way of rejecting neocolonialism that disregards societal norms.

Much of what Benjamin discusses in his essay has to do with what he describes as the “aura” or spirit of an artwork. He discusses this spirit and how it is obtained, lost, given and received. He suggests that the aura of an artwork we know and understand today is much different from how it was understood in the time and place of its production. The aura Benjamin speaks of is obtained because of the artwork’s uniqueness and authenticity, which in turn is lost due the act of mass production. In describing this