Kailin J. Jones

After Aura: Authorship, Automation, Authenticity

Kailin J. Jones Advisor: Azra Aksamija Readers: Hans Tursack. Mark Jarzombek

Walter Benjamin writes that “that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art.” In this thesis, I explore that which flourishes in the act of reproduction. This thesis examines the evolution of reproductive techniques in and transmissions of art and how it has affected artistic invention.

According to Benjamin, aura is rooted in site specificity, ritual, uniqueness and non-reproducibility, failing to acknowledge the migration of objects, people and tools that have circulated throughout the world transmitting aesthetics and transferring skill and knowledge. In After Art, David Joselit asks for an expansion of the definition of art to “embrace heterogeneous configurations of relationships or links,” freeing art from belonging to any particular time, space or medium.

The ancient craft of beauty has never been stagnant or isolated from the act of reproduction. Rather, it is constantly evolving along with the innovations of technologies, the reach and speed of distribution networks, and changes in politics, economics, and culture. Artists such as Vermeer used reproductive techniques, such as using the camera lucida to assist in accurately rendering his images.

The thesis uses China as a site of

reproduction, both historic and contemporary, to reinforce the cultural complexities of reproduction. The sixth principle of Chinese painting, “传移模写” translates word-for-word

to “transmitting-transferring, imitating-writing.” The first two characters define the motivation for copying and the second pair address the method. The process of copying has the ability to transfer knowledge and skill from the original to the copier; the copy itself facilitates the preservation of the

original from lootings and destruction; the proliferation of the copy alters the original's accessibility and introduces new interactions and contexts.

The sacred line between original and copy is not eroding. The distinction between production and reproduction has always been a blurry one. What motivates copying? How do we copy? What is a copy vis a vis an original? Through a series of experiments in copying, this thesis examines these questions by reproducing originals of objects of contentious origins and co-opting tools and techniques of reproduction.

Image 1 (Opposite): What happens when you ask Frustrated Van Gogh to digitally Reproduce the World’s Most Expensive Walnut?, Digital screenshot collage, Kailin Jones, 2020.

Image 2 (Below): A Design for Digitally Reproducing Mechanical Machines of Reproduction, Collage of Expired Patents, Kailin Jones, 2020.