Apparently Great Artist's Do Steal

 The Death of the Author, Roland Barthes, and Sherrie Levine

In the writing The Death of the Author by Frenchman Roland Barthes the idea that the author is absent from a work throughout the rest of its life is heavily emphasized as well as the idea that an author or creator's message is no longer relevant when a work is in the hands of the viewer. There are a few ideas that are contradictory, one that stood out to me was the idea of enunciation being an unnecessary element of literature. 

To begin his writing Barthes explains society's fascination with “the Author.” Society is most interested in the persona of the author or elements of the author's character. Society is also intrigued by the author's lives, their preference and personal interests. Another point Barthes makes is that an author is their work, or their work becomes a part of them almost like a description of their identity. Barthes' most important idea in this writing is the death of the author. After a work leaves the hands of its author, the author can no longer mediate the original message or intended meaning, the viewer has more freedom for interpretation. In the writing Barthes states “...enunciation is an empty process…(pg 145).” I don't necessarily think that is true and Barthes must not either because right after he says it is useless he says it “ functions perfectly (pg 145).” Barthes' excuse for contradicting himself is that enunciation is utilitarian but there isn't really a dire need for it, which I also don't necessarily agree with because enunciation contributes to the cleanliness of literature. Barthes' main point is that “the Author” is the history of their own work and they are almost never present during interpretation. 

In 1947 Sherrie Levine shared an artist statement completely plagiarizing Barthes The Death of the Author, only vaguely referencing him. Her rewriting his work and presenting it is an exact representation of what Barthes means. Barthes as the author of The Death of the Author has absolutely no control over what Sherrie Levine does as a viewer to interpret and present the information he provided her with. The only difference in Sherrie’s writing is that she replaces the author with a painter. Something profound Sherrie says is that photographs are quotations of moments in time. I never really made the comparison between a picture and a quote but it is extremely accurate. 

    

Sherrie Levine. After Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (Buddha), 1996

The artwork above is a bronze urinal by Sherrie Levine, so very obviously a copy of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain slightly modified. Sherrie Levine's exact goal is to push the limits of ownership. Sherrie is correct to challenge ownership, so is Barthes. It is very safe to say we as individuals are constantly drawing upon our experiences. I think if Barthes read Sherrie’s artist statement himself and saw some of her work he would be thoroughly enthused. I think Barthes is correct to say the author is absent from pretty much every interpretation of their work and I don't think it is wrong Sherrie Levine imitated these works that came before her. 


Barthes, Roland. The Death of the Author. American journal Aspen, no. 5–6. 1967. Accessed 10 October 2021.

Fountain (Buddha), https://www.icaboston.org/art/sherrie-levine/fountain-buddha.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Semiology (Norman Bryson)

Image
  Visual Interpretation (Perception) In the reading Semiology and Visual Interpretation the author Norman Bryson references the ideas of the perception. Bryson emphasizes the use of signs and symbols to portray a message. He also highlights both ends of interpretation: the creator and viewer. Bryson’s ideals are easy to resonate with, as we all recognize iconic symbols with universal meanings as well as use them to communicate.  Bryson references John Ruskin at the beginning of his writing, Ruskins speaks of Joseph Turner, a romantic painter. Often Turner used the same device’s in his works to portray a specific design. Ruskin uses Turner’s work to explain the effects of associated memories with new perceptions, “... each new bridge Turner sees and paints reminds Turner of previous bridges… Turner’s new perception of a bridge brings with it the train of all the bridges Turner has previously perceived (pg 89).” Bryson then references the text Art and Illusion written by Emst G...
Read more

The Oppositional Black Gaze

Image
The Oppositional Gaze and Black People’s Relationship and Representation in Cinema  In the writing The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators author bell hooks explains the domination of white supremacy engrained in the gaze of black people, the effects of blacks looking and being looked at and the representations of blacks in the cinematic experience. Hooks statements about the white gaze and the black gaze as well as its relationship to many different things is accurate. I think it is important that blacks are represented in a way that does not reinforce white European culture and values.   In the beginning of this chapter hooks talks about the child's relationship with the gaze. When children are young they are told not to stare but they are also told to look at adults when they are being scolded. This control of children’s looking is an example of how making eye contact and not making eye contact can mean and result in different outcomes. Then hooks explains that ...
Read more

Beauty (Amelia Jones Article)

Image
 Archaic Ideals of Beauty  In the article “Every man knows where and how beauty gives him pleasure” Beauty Discourse and the Logic of Aesthetics Amelia Jones describes a warped sense of beauty held by figures with a sort of authoritarian persona. I would have to agree with Amelia’s argument that the definition of beauty cannot be the same amongst everyone due to a social construct.  The title of the article is a John Ruskin quote. Ruskin’s quote is specifically chosen because it is a dual gesture. His quote acknowledges that beauty is subjective by stating “Every man knows…(pg 215).” While at the same time Ruskin callously naturalizes the definition of beauty. Throughout the piece Jones points out the theories of the men she referenced (Immanuel Kant, Johann Winkelmann, John Ruskin) contradict each other. Each theory just like Ruskin’s claims an authoritarian persona as if the author speaking/ writing it is correct in their definition of beauty and no one else is. Jones ...
Read more