Mass Art: The Process Of Mass Production In Art

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The term ‘Mass Production’ refers to the process of creating large numbers of similar products with efficiency. It is disputable that the process of mass production is argued to take away the initial value and rarity of an artwork. However, mass production in art may take objects that are normally seen as mundane and transform our perceptions and give them new value and meaning. This notion is highlighted through the works of Andy Warhol, who worked with regular, everyday items to give them a new, exclusive look though his practice. Kathe Kollwitz disregarded the convention of mass production decreasing the value of art and massed produced her works with the intention to make them accessible to the working class of Germany during World War II. Ai Weiei has also utilised mass production to create ‘Sunflower Seeds’ …show more content…

Many artists have found great success by utilising mass production to assist their works, but whilst mass production does create copious amounts of similar looking works, there are also disadvantages that comes with this process. The value of an artist’s work may decrease the more that the work is duplicated and may lose meaning through the masses; this notion is similar to the process of hyper inflation - as money can lose value, so can the rarity of an artwork.Although, this ‘loss of value’ may be intended, as seen through Kathe Kollwitz practice and the distribution of her lithographs and various prints. However, some artists may not be affected by this loss of value. For example, the ‘Mona Lisa’ is one of the world’s most recognisable and distinguished artworks. But even though the Mona Lisa has been replicated and recreated through parodies and has been appropriated countless times, the original painting by Leonardo da Vinci still remains to be one of the most sought after

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