Richard Whittaker on mon 26 may 03
Snail's comments re Clement Greenberg and the devaluation of the artist-the
maker-as having any degree of privileged relationship in terms of
understanding his or her own work speak to my own interests very strongly.
Another thinker, by the way, who had a profound influence along these
lines was Roland Barthe, whose 1968 essay "The Death of the Author" made a
very big impact in the thinking of literary and art critics.
This point of view, that the author has(in principle) no greater insight
into his or her own work than anyone else, is one I always found absurd
while, at the same time, understanding that one can not know all the
influences which operate through one.
What I find most compelling is talking with artists themselves. While many
artists are not terribly articulate, and need not be, some are. The
interviews I've published demonstrate this fact very well.
I agree with Snail, that we are in a period where the point of view of the
artist him or herself is again gaining a certain amount of potential
credibility. As with all generalizations, there are plenty of exceptions.
One can easily find people spouting inanities, but the opposite is also
quite true.
Richard Whittaker
www.conversations.org
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