The Author is Dead

I’m almost certain it was Roland Barthes who said this. I can’t be certain though. I think it had some vague derivation or conception in Nietzsche's "God is dead" notion. Memory plays tricks. The power of the written word when it comes to those works intended for public consumption is awe inspiring. I mean, really..think about it. How many of us have read the same words and fabricated completely different realities in our minds? I’m not just talking about books here, I’m talking movies, plays, poems, tv shows, songs, articles and yes, blogs. Once the author decides his or her work is done, little do they know how done they are..

On a larger scale, let’s apply the same principle to all art.

Motivations and intentions behind the creation become irrelevant. It belongs to whoever perceives it. It’s quite beautiful really. It means that a creator who knows this is forced to consider many things. Also, art then defies ownership. Though, it really does beg the question as to why the academics spend so much time analyzing and classifying art and then ‘teach’ this to students. Isn’t it kind of pointless, when they themselves say that art is without form and can manifest in new ways any moment? Besides, no artist creates something for academic analysis.

Why is such analysis only applied to human creations? Meaning.. we often say that nature is the most beautiful creation and that God must be an artist. Why isn’t anyone analysing and classifying the flowers and animals and plants and mountains and such on an aesthetic basis?

Perhaps, those responsible feel that God is too great an artist to analyze with the human intellect. Wonder why the same people then humanize God in other respects, you know, emotions, intentions, motivations etc.

My, my, aren’t we a curious and silly bunch?