Fine Arts Commons^™

Digital Reproduction: The Degradation Of Art Viewership, Zoe Wallis Weingarten

MA Theses

This thesis explores the impact of the ease of photographic reproduction on the
experience of contemporary art viewership. This study establishes historical precedent and explains the phenomenon of the serial photographic reproduction of works of art by contemporary audiences. In doing so, the thesis identifies the implications of reproductions on the original work of art they replicate as well as the consequences of such reproduction. The photographic duplication of artworks in the museum allows the viewer to recommodify the artwork, become its quasi-possessor, and alter its meaning and function. This study is centered around the argument that this widespread practice …