In the ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ by Walter Benjamin, the mechanical advancement in art and the result of the new product is discussed. Drawing and painting was a method used to record a specific subject at a specific time in place, and then the camera was invented and held the same purpose, but now, the process was insanely faster. This introduces the topic of speed as it relates to art, culture, and society. The invention of the camera [and film] not only speed up the act of documenting, but also allowed for speedy reproduction. The same goes with the invention of the video camera, the still camera could rapidly document still frames but now who human experiences could be documented and viewed by man. This separated the subject from the camera, the actor now performs for the camera and the camera performs for the masses which in some [arguable] way takes away from the artistic quality of the piece. This compares with the photograph separating the subject from its time and place. There is basically two types of art, that of which was intended to have a significance in cult value and that of which is intended to be put on display for the masses. The former used to be the main reason for creating art but with the development of the technology and ease of use, the function of art for entertainment began to increase eventually overtaking the cult’s premier seat.
McLuhan talks about what is recurrent in all these technologies, ie painting, photographing, and filming, and that is the communication of a content, a message, and each attempt at communication alters the original subject to a certain degree. The painting of the tree is now the artist’s interpretation of the tree, the photograph of the tree is the cropped region that the photographer saw, and the same goes with film. The development of transportation and cities underwent the same type of evolution which also had a great effect of speed in relation to society. The development of the train allowed people, products, and industry to spread out further and much faster than riding cross country on a buggy. This invention increased the rate at which cities evolved and the ability to communicate faster over very long distances. Next came the airplane that increased these same things even more. A several month long trek across the country was replaced by a several day long train ride which was replaced by a several hour plane ride.
As a philosophical conclusion, the products of modern technology are neither good nor bad, but it is how they are used that determine the value on a use by use basis.