Although I do not agree with everything in Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, I believe that Benjamin's point that a work of art has a unique history, which contributes to the work's 'aura,' is valid. Art is as much about the process of creation as it is about the final product. I think that when art is reproduced the new piece has a different quality to it because it underwent a different process, though not necessarily better or worse.
For my emulation project, I copied this drawing by Degas, which was a study for one of his paintings of dancers. I chose to focus on Degas' dancers because of my interest in dance and the expression of movement that Degas seems to accomplish in this drawing through his varying strokes. I decided to copy this study instead of a Degas painting to explore the creative process because the sketch shows all of the marks and adjustments that were made in an effort to examine and express the figures. I thought that this would be a challenge that would help me to work on my own process of seeing and drawing. This exercise reminded me that art is never done, even though the artist can decide to cease working on a piece when it seems as though a stage of art's continuous process may be complete.
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