The return of the aura: Cultural devices and institutional practices

Abstract

Contemporary art and its status within the culture cannot be dissociated from the conditions that characterize the ways they take place in it. The remarks made by Benjamin at the beginning of the changes that the artistic and institutional domain would soon undergo, are currently subject to a remarkable turnaround which is changing the way the relationship between art and its social environment is considered. This contribution will examine certain significant aspects of this relationship because of a noteworthy “return of the aura” which can, to a great extent, shed light on the way legitimacy is conferred to artistic practices and their essential ontology.