The Concept of Manifestation in Traditional Artsand its Confrontation with Mechanical Reproduction

Problem statement: 

Traditional arts have been approached differently in terms of theoretical aspects. On the one hand, traditionalists believe in specific components of traditional arts. On the other hand, one of the important topics for contemporary theorists and art researchers is the theory of reproducibility and mechanical reproduction of art. Among the concepts, Manifestation is explored, and expanded from the perspective of thinkers, leading to challenging discussions between two schools of thought.

The aim of this article is firstly to explore the concept of manifestation from the perspective of traditionalists and Walter Benjamin, and then to identify and explain how this concept is confronted with mechanical reproduction. Therefore, this research answers the question of “how the concept of manifestation in traditional arts and its confrontation with mechanical reproduction can be articulated?”

This article employs a descriptive-analytical approach and a comparative study, along with a library-based examination of data and qualitative analysis, to clarify the concept of manifestation in the face of mechanical reproduction.

Based on the coding and analysis of the perspectives of five traditionalist thinkers and Walter Benjamin’s famous article, the constitutive components of manifestation and mechanical reproduction have been identified. According to the performed categorizations, the categories of mechanical reproduction are comparable to the categories of manifestation’s concept, which are opposite to each other except for two components. Therefore, the similarities and differences between them have led to the identification of the components of manifestation in the face of mechanical reproduction. During this process, it became clear that the concept of manifestation has two dimensions and approaches; one is related to the traditionalist perspective and Benjamin’s view, and the other is related to mechanical reproduction. Consequently, considering the comparison between the main categories of these two concepts, it is possible to distinguish the manifestation of mechanical reproduction from the manifestation envisioned by traditionalists and Benjamin, which has taken on a new form and is unavoidable.