“The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.”
– Marcel Duchamp 1
Consider the Duchamp quote above in light of your reading and viewing.
Write a reflective statement in your blog in response to the following questions:
- What should an artist do when the spectator creates entirely unexpected expressive or cognitive content for a work? Should that matter to the artist?
Artists have the power and responsibility to the art community to gracefully respond to reactions their work evokes. Based on the intensity of the reaction responses are important to engage he greater conversation about art within the art community. A direct and influenced reaction to a work of art should be acknowledged and responded to promptly. The opinion or content should not matter much to the artist but the comment on their work should definitely be recognized simply by it being a different perspective.
- Should the artist attempt to inform the spectator of his or her expressive or cognitive intention beforehand, say through some kind of artist’s statement? Does this stifle the spectator’s own active participation?
I believe the artist should do everything within his will of creation to prime the minds of his viewers before viewing works. The artist statement is extremely important within the context of viewing works. The statement is a direct connection to the artist and what the work is about. The statement promotes what is detailed in its explanation.
- When, if ever, is a spectator’s knowledge of an artist’s intent for an artwork relevant to interpreting or judging the work? If you did not know the autobiographical details of the life of Louise Bourgeois, for example, how would you react to her work differently, if at all?
The spectator’s knowledge of an artist’s intent is important to interpreting the work. The context for deciphering the code of a work of art lives in the personal and historical context of the life of the artist.