The Age of Display

In Walter Benjamin’s, The Arcades project, he describes many different and almost unrelated topics concerning the world of architecture and art, and brings them together in the finale, just as the reader would be led to believe the topics have nothing in common. The writings of barricades on the wide Paris boulevards, widening of those same boulevards, World Exhibitions, and the new artistic technique of photography all have seemingly nothing in common, but in fact are part of a larger, broader idea.
Each seemingly different topic described by Benjamin, exemplifies the people of that time’s departure from older ideals and techniques, and how they embraced the changing culture of their day. Many devices and products that had once only been considered for an audience of one and unique were now being considered for mass market appeal. A portrait which consisted of a long, slow process, became faster and easier with the introduction of the photograph and made available the same image for multiple consumers. The introduction of these new arcades allowed people to finally display the works and products they would soon be selling to the consumers. This phenomenon began with the introduction of the before mentioned World Exhibitions, where creators had the opportunity to show off their works to a much larger scale. Before the age of television and the internet, consumers would be given the chance to view many products available to them.