The concept of aura and idea of authenticity are both theories that apply heavily to our 3D modelling project and what we want to convey. The core idea of aura concerns itself with the societal value, context and historical conditions an object is conveying(Latour, B. & Lowe, A. 2011) Beyond these it can also concern the personal meaning, relations and experiences someone had with the object.
In our digital era the idea of aura has changed a lot, since many technologies allow us to digitally reproduce objects and art into an online space which can bring the argument of the aura decaying. This digital reproducibility also questions the authenticity of the object, can something still be original if it can be reproduced so effortlessly? The first question is if 3D models can still reproduce some form of aura and authenticity, after all people are still able to interact with them to some degree. Much of this depends on the contextualisation of the specific object (Cardozo, T. & Papadopoulos, C. 2021) for our dragon rider we were able to add a lot of background information through different articles and annotations about both dragons and several orientalist aspects. For these aspects to be convincing however the 3D model also needs to be a good reproduction to where it adds value beyond a simple image of the original object (Cardozo, T. & Papadopoulos, C. 2021). This value can be added by a high quality model, the presentation of the information and even the personal value it holds for the creator. Another angle can be seen in the constructivist approach (Cardozo, T. & Papadopoulos, C. 2021), which also applies heavily to our own Dragon Rider project and model. This approach sees value in how people interact with the object on a personal note and the value this provides. This can give different perspectives on objects as personal experiences from different cultures can give the object more character and societal relevance. People will share their own opinion and inject their own values into the object which creates a unique network between both the people and the object.This way the personal relationship of the original artist and the new perspectives of other people can enhance both the authenticity and Aura of the object to new heights.