In a world where technology and the digital realm have become integral parts of our daily lives, artworks have undergone a transformative journey. In 1936, a cultural critic and essayist known for his influential writings on art -Walter Benjamin- published his essay titled “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Here, he presents a theory that what sets apart various artworks is their “aura,” which is what cannot be captured in any reproduction(2). He also discusses how advancements in technology, such as photography and film, have fundamentally changed the way we engage with artworks and contributed to the diminishing of artwork’s aura(1). In the meantime, His concept of the “aura” in traditional artworks and how mass production and reproduction technologies affect this aura has gained a new relevance due to the influence of social media. Among these, TikTok emerges as a formidable force. This platform has not only captured the hearts of millions. Still, it has also revolutionized the way we engage with media, culture, and society, as well as a powerful testament to how the growth of social media has dramatically impacted our perceptions of art. With the rise of TikTok and other social media sites playing an essential role in making artworks available to all, not only did it take away the authenticity of art, but it also opened the door to misinterpretation and ultimately altered the way we perceive and value art.
First and Foremost, TikTok Encourages exhibition value. According to Benjamin, “works of art are received and valued on different planes” that are cult value and exhibition value (5). This is to say the lesser the cult value, the more accessible art is to the masses. Mechanical reproduction makes art available to a broader audience, which dissociates it from the cult. Traditionally, art was often associated with its originality and rarity; however, currently, Art is no longer confined to elite circles, and its value is no longer solely determined by how rare it is but because of how far it spread and how many people know about it due to the rise of social media. TikTok, like many other social media platforms, promotes exhibition value through various features and strategies that encourage its users to share content and offer discoverability through algorithms. Its popularity has created a market for artists and creators to achieve virality and financial success; many creators compromise the authenticity of their work. They tailor their content to maximize views, likes, and shares and prioritize audience engagement over genuine artistic expression. Undoubtedly, museums and galleries that were previously known to conserve cult value have also hoped for this trend to showcase their exhibitions compellingly, and this has shifted the focus away from artistic merit and toward exhibition value that creates more gain.
Following this, TikTok deteriorates the aura of traditional artworks by blurring the lines between authenticity and reproduction. Aura is the sense of presence and history that surrounds an original work of art. It is what makes the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum a unique and almost spiritual experience. Now, with the age of digital reproduction, the aura takes on a whole new and different meaning. Benjamin admits that the repetition of artwork has always existed, but the technological replication of art is something new and other (1). He continues by mentioning that the true essence of something is everything that can be passed down about it, starting from its beginning, including how long it has existed and the story it carries from its history (2). TikTok represents a digital parallel platform where these historical achievements can be easily replicated endlessly and shared with just little distinction between the original and its copies. Even if you perfectly recreate something on TikTok, you can’t capture the essence of its original presence in a specific time and place. On TikTok, countless users engage in interpreting and remixing various arts with the use of trending hashtags and creating trends. A key example is dance challenges. TikTok is very well-known for its dance challenges, where users create and imitate short dance routines. These dances can become disconnected from the original choreography’s artistic intentions and historical context, consequently making the original work irrelevant. While this process is often creative, it highly challenges the notion of authenticity as it becomes difficult to differentiate original work and its duplicates.
Eventually, TikTok hinders the interpretation of art. Artworks shared on TikTok are frequently presented without their original context or sometimes accompanied by brief comments and captions that may simply need to be more accurate with the art. In his essay, Benjamin commented that. “The adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope as much for thinking as for perception” (3). Relating to that, many social media, including TikTok, are built in a way that appeals to the public while heightening misinterpretations. For instance, its video format plays a vital role in hindering an in-depth analysis and discussions of complex artworks as the video limit can be up to 10 minutes. Due to the short attention span of TikTok viewers, there exists the platform’s rapid scroll and swipe culture, where most videos are in the range of 15-30 seconds. Even more concerning is the unauthorized alteration of art. Users are able to modify a piece of art to their liking. While this might be a good thing, the line between respectful reinterpretation and misleading alteration is blurred, and this brings an ethical question of who has a right to alter, comment, or even remix art in a way that will not create controversies or boost the misinterpretation while preserving the original artist’s content. Additionally, there are algorithmic recommendations that always lead to content being shown to users who already share similar interests and views, which later creates problems as art is interpreted in a biased way and digital manipulation, which consists of the commentary and critique side which has potential to provide misguided interpretations particularly when viewers lack expertise in art analysis.
As has been noted, Benjamin’s concepts confront new and complex innovations in the digital age. While social media has undeniably increased access to art, making it readily available globally, it has simultaneously brought a significant shift in our perception and valuation of art. Artworks can be decontextualized, devalued, or even manipulated, all in a rush for likes and shares in this fast-paced world of social media. In Benjamin’s time, the only way to see something was in its printed form, reproduced through lithography, which was slower than TikTok at the moment. TikTok absolutely wants all of your attention, and this contributes to its dominance in the social media landscape and contributes to the risk of losing a meaningful connection with our physical surroundings, which, in the long run, raises concerns about its long-term impact on individuals’ health and cultural dilution. But here is the good part: on social media, we can choose what we share, who we connect with, and what we care about. We still have a say in how we use technology.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.”
Illuminations. Translated by Harry Zohn, edited by Hannah Arendt, Schocken
Books, 1969, pp. 1-26.
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