Authenticity is about the artist who designed the work of art, not so much the art they produced. In the age of digital design and manufacture, the ‘authentic’ art is the piece the designer distributes themselves; any other copy reblogged by anyone else then becomes the replica. So, a photographer’s photos are all authentic if the photos are printed from the same negative but once somebody replicates this photo and prints it from another source, the photo becomes replica. Today design has become more digitally orientated and with that the word authentic has evolved to meaning something different, the authenticity belongs to the copyrighted designer instead.
When you buy a new couch, you aren’t purchasing the ‘original’ but a copy which looks and feels the same as the authentic; however without the emotional history and design process the designer went through to emerge with the final prototype.
Benjamin argues that in the modern world, “art produced has become the work of art designed for reproducibility,” but if something is designed well why not share it with the world? Art designed for reproducibility is a way to get the art to the people.
