The Aura of Buddhist Material Objects in the Age of Mass-production
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The Aura of Buddhist Material Objects in the Age of Mass-production. / Brox, Trine.
In: Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol. 20, 2019, p. 105-125.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Aura of Buddhist Material Objects in the Age of Mass-production
AU - Brox, Trine
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The article discusses material religion in a commercial setting and begins with Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936). Benjamin argues that mechanical reproduction emancipated works of art from religious rituals and evaporated the aura of art. This has resonance among some Tibetan Buddhists in the context of mass-produced Buddhist material objects. Are such objects fit to be given as gifts, implemented in rituals, and worshipped on altars? Based upon ethnographic work at a Tibetan Buddhist market in urban China, this article argues that, although factory-made, for-profit objects are not made or handled according to Buddhist tradition, the aura can be produced in different ways and at different points of an object’s life. This article presents three very different modes of action employed by marketers, customers, and ritual specialists. The modes of action are packaging, ritual action, and faith labor.
AB - The article discusses material religion in a commercial setting and begins with Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1936). Benjamin argues that mechanical reproduction emancipated works of art from religious rituals and evaporated the aura of art. This has resonance among some Tibetan Buddhists in the context of mass-produced Buddhist material objects. Are such objects fit to be given as gifts, implemented in rituals, and worshipped on altars? Based upon ethnographic work at a Tibetan Buddhist market in urban China, this article argues that, although factory-made, for-profit objects are not made or handled according to Buddhist tradition, the aura can be produced in different ways and at different points of an object’s life. This article presents three very different modes of action employed by marketers, customers, and ritual specialists. The modes of action are packaging, ritual action, and faith labor.
U2 - 10.5281/zenodo.3238213
DO - 10.5281/zenodo.3238213
M3 - Journal article
VL - 20
SP - 105
EP - 125
JO - Journal of Global Buddhism
JF - Journal of Global Buddhism
SN - 1527-6457
ER -
ID: 225996519