It has often been said that great art articulates universal truths about what it is to be human and does so in a way that is truer and more resonant with people the world over than a text or philosophy or other methods of communication might be. If we consider Picasso’s Guernica or Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, or even creative works that are in other fields like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, there is something about them that has made humans who encounter them feel a special connection, regardless of the culture from which they hail. 

The philosopher, Walter Benjamin, wrote in his famous essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” that there is an “aura” that surrounds great works of art that cannot be scientifically explained. There’s a mysticism to the fact that we don’t know exactly why they resonate so universally, while other works do not. 

Why do you think this is the case? Have you ever seen a work of art in person and felt that “aura,” which you might not feel seeing the same work on your computer or in a book? And now, in the age of AI art, is it more important than ever to have direct connections with art as physical objects? Part of Benjamin’s theory was that art created directly from the artist’s hand as a physical object is imparted with some of the artist’s inner thoughts, emotions, and passions. That certainly seems to be the case with The Scream. But what if the artist uses a digital medium, like ProCreate drawing software? Or what if the artist simply inputs prompts into software and lets artificial intelligence create the art?

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