Why talk to artists?

Withers, R (2015) 'Why talk to artists?' In: Jones, N.J and Liotchev, I, eds. COLLABORATE! JKL Books, London.

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Abstract

An essay written for and published in a limited-edition book accompanying the exhibition COLLABORATE! at Oriel Syncharth Gallery, Wrexham Glyndwr University, between 23 April and 19 June 2015. The essay probes the idea that critics should maintain "impartiality" by avoiding collaborative interactions or professional conversations with individual artists. It argues that critical texts are, in Roland Barthes's term, 'readerly' in very much the same way as other kinds of literature, and points out that the cachet of collaboration frequently depends on the assumed existence of a reactionary, "auteurist" mainstream. It concludes by recommending that the readers of criticism actively adopt habits of creative and critical interpretation, and be alert to the potentially fascinating complexities and duplicities necessarily at play in the work of art critics, rather than demanding an impossible level of transparency and disinterest from critical writing.

Item Type:	Book Chapter or Section
Keywords:	Authorship, authenticity, auteurism, collaboration, conversation, collusion
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BH Aesthetics N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR N Fine Arts > NB Sculpture N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration N Fine Arts > ND Painting N Fine Arts > NE Print media N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
Divisions:	Bath School of Design
Related URLs:	Organisation
Date Deposited:	26 Nov 2018 12:12
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2021 09:50
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/11368

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