‘Authenticity is a term used by philosopher and critic Walter Benjamin to describe the qualities of an original work of art as opposed to a reproduction’. Walter Benjamin says an original work of art is authentic because it ‘has presence in time and space’. He used the word ‘authenticity’ firstly in his essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction where he stated,

“A reproduction of a work of art lacks ‘authenticity’ as it is not possible, when reproducing the work of art, to establish the exact conditions in which the original artwork was created. But it is possible, by reproducing a work of art, to call into question the original artwork’s authenticity, as reproducing it has undermined the artwork.”

In my opinion, in modern day society I personally think that it is very hard to create truly authentic work because everywhere you look there is design and artwork; to be able to not let this inspire and possibly even influence your own work as a designer is truly impossible. However; I think that being truly authentic is completely personal and shouldn’t match up to what’s happening in today’s society or what the current trend is. An authentic piece of artwork should be passionate and proud.

The more I read up about the word ‘authenticity’ the more negative I seem to think the word can be. Yes it’s good to have a truly authentic piece of artwork, but to constantly point things out that aren’t authentic and ‘just a replication’ of someone else’s original work isn’t a good way of using the word authentic. In conclusion, in todays era it is highly unlikely to produce a truly authentic piece of artwork or design.

Bibliography

Authenticity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from Tate: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/authenticity

You wont believe how companies steal logos from one another. (2014, October 03). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from Pencilnex: http://www.pencilnex.ro/blog/tag/famous-logos-that-look-the-same/