Death of the Author
When viewing a work of art or even a piece of literature, the identity of the author helps to establish a proper interpretation of the piece. But if the identity of the author may not known, or not revealed, coming to a clear understanding may be a bit harder. It may seem that the author, or creator, may begin to exhibit telltale signs of a loss of identity throughout the piece. Ambiguous references and left of field approaches for conveying this struggle will appear to be quite obvious if not unwarranted and unnecessary. If the author chooses to intentionally suppress his or her own personal attentions to detail, or makes a conscious effort to mislead the viewer/ reader then he or she is taking the precautions in order to let the work stand on its own without the added meaning given to it by his or her own identity. Through the use of appropriation the identity of the original author can be, in fact, deleted from memory. By using already established sources, an outside identity (the author who is now using someone else's work) is capable of giving any given work new meaning by taking it out of context and manipulating it to his or her own specifications. If the new work is successful in both being able to delete the original author's imprints and establish new meaning, while at the same time keeping the new identity out of the piece, then it should be able to speak for itself.
The author's importance lies in the fact that their creations are attached to them. A work of art or literature is automatically cross-referenced to its creator and this in turn leads to learning of other works all by the same identity. The creation is thought of as being the author's property and unless it is successfully tinkered with or stretched askew, no new meaning can be given to it. This ownership lends itself to the authenticity of any given creation. Bootlegs and piracy are rampant in today's media. No one likes to be played for a fool, but the use of appropriation can be based on disguising sources and subverting the creative process. The author who chooses to appropriate his or her sources opts to delete the original author but does so at his or her own risk. If this new work were able to overshadow its original sources, and its original author, there might be repercussions. The deletion of identity is crucial in order to avoid any legal troubles. Authors who choose to take this route should realize that anonymity is a function of liability. As long as you can remain anonymous you can't be held liable for anything.
Media can be viewed as an authorless form of literature. Given all the television shows, commercials, and infinite amount of images that people are confronted with every day, their creators usually go by unnoticed, working behind the scenes. Their identities are known to a knowledgeable few, but for the most part, they can remain anonymous. In place of sentences and paragraphs, aesthetic devices are used to portray mood and appeal to the senses of sight and sound. At its lowest point, mediums within media such as television, film, music, and computers can appeal to people's lack of attention. A lack of the ability to read will not hinder your enjoyment for any given sitcom or video game. Readers of new work through the use of appropriation, if the work is successful, will be able to disregard the original author's influence on the creation. The author will have become an inactive participant, whose roll will no longer extend itself into the piece's interpretation. The death of the author is the only thing that will yield a pure, untainted view of the piece, as an enmity all by itself.
The creation's ability to stand-alone can lead to its perpetuation as visual dogma. The lack of humanity present, due to the death of its author, will have created a type of propaganda, which is meant to appeal to people as a whole, but with no intentions of elevating the individual in any way. The individual refers to the original author and the author who chooses to use appropriation. An author who uses secondhand sources is not as well respected as one who creates from nothing, so any hopes of gaining that kind of recognition will be dashed. But the instant reaction towards the visual imagery can be viewed as recognition enough. If this new creation were admired despite its bootleg appeal, then the identity of the author(s) would only take importance away from the piece. The authorless work would be free to be openly interpreted in any way possible. There would be no human voice to explain given intentions, reasons for thinking, and approaches towards content. In contrast, authors of written words are expected to back up their text. They are expected to divulge their own personal history, so that the reader will be able to better understand and grasp innuendos layered within the readings.
Some may say that this authorless creation lacks soul. It may be seen as being entirely superficial, meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator. If there is no author to stand alongside his or her creation, then there is no one to defend it or give it the justification that many will feel they need to give it validity. The new creation's tendency towards mass appeal can be al encompassing, relating to both intellectual elitists and blue-collar grinders. How can it lack humanity if it appeals to all types of people? The death of the author(s) may be seen as resulting in shallow work, only interested in visual mystification. But the death of the author will also result in the supplanting of outside influences, mainly from the viewing public themselves. These new readers will give the authorless creation new and different meanings, independent from any rational explanation the anonymous author(s) could give for it.
Jonathan Lim's website is located at http://www.xanga.com/staidit