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An excuse to paint the internet; inspired by Walter Benjamin and the Ikea Monkey.

Benjameme takes its name from a German art theorist, Walter Benjamin. In Benjamin’s 1936 essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” he addressed the then newfound reproducibility and availability of art. This democratization of art made Benjamin question the value of the original. An original of art, he theorized, possessed an aura, which made the experience of viewing the original unique. Reproductions degraded the value of the original’s aura.

A successful meme by definition is reproducible, shareable, and recognizable. Benjamemes creates an aura where none previously existed.

See all paintings here.