Mechanical reproduction destroys the “aura” or human component of creation towards any specific culture. The best analogy I can think of would pertain to the work of ceramicists and how the context of their labors would materially shift if their work ever became a product of mechanical reproduction. Their work would become less personal, maybe even less nuanced. One piece of pottery would be a carbon copy of the next through mechanical reproduction, with no sense of expression or uniqueness compared to the means of organic, hands-on work from a ceramicist.
I think this same principal applies to digital reproduction in some instances. Over-dilution of some markets can also be a counterpart of digital reproduction, this is to include memes, remixes, outright replication, or modification. While digital reproduction is not always an accurate representation of the product its replicating, it can also be a means for devaluing certain assets depending on the rarity. I do not think this is a particularly negative component of reproduction, because in some instances this can be considered an appropriate market-correction for what and asset is worth.
We see forms of digital reproduction every day – and if they are not carbon copy reproductions, they are reiterations or reimaginations of ideas. Reproduction is a mainstream part of cultural expression today. Music, for example has become a beacon for reproduction and the reimagining of ideas that were thought up years before contemporary producers got their hands on certain works. I am more often surprised when a producer comes along with a 100% original, unsampled track, than a top 100 billboard hit – even if the sample is or reproduction work is virtually unidentifiable. People seem to always be in this cycle of reproduction, and they seem to be doing it well – so well that it becomes a product its own entirely. This idea simultaneously plays into and against Benjamin’s idea of reproduction. There are many instances in which digital reproduction is executed poorly and strips the “aura” of a piece of work – but there are also instances of reproduction that elevate a piece of work into a life of its own.
