Richard Sullivan (richsul@earthlink.net)
Tue, 23 Feb 1999 14:38:30 -0700
Jonathon Higgens yesterday raised the issue of "authenticity." I think the
general public has a yen for the "touched by" aspect of art. For instance, look
at the current popularity in the movie world for the "directors cut." Maybe
not "better" but surely thought of as more "authentic" by the general public.
Those who know me know I don't hanker too much for magical or mystical
thinking, but I do remember getting goosebumps while holding a letter written
and signed by Abraham Lincoln. I doubt I would have had the same feeling had I
been told it was an exact facsimile. The "authnticity" is a relation between
object and beholder. As George Burns used to quip:
"Acting is all about sincerity. Learn to fake that, and you will be successful"
Most of us have read Walter Benjamin's Marxist thesis on mechanically
reproduced art back in art school. (Yes -- really Marxist, not a slur on my
part. W.B. would agree. He really does talk about the proletariat and the
masses.)
Bejamin's take on authenticity:
"The presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of
authenticity. Chemical analyses of the patina of a bronze can help to establish
this, as does the proof that a given manuscript of the Middle Ages stems from
an archive of the fifteenth century. The whole sphere of authenticity is
outside
technical--and, of course, not only technical--reproducibility."
(emphasis is mine)
For the whole thesis. (almost a manifesto) If you haven't read it it is worth a
few minutes reading it.
See:
http://pixels.filmtv.ucla.edu/community/julian_scaff/benjamin/benjamin.html
So W. B. skips out of the whole issue of authenticity. It is important to note
however, is he does recognize "authenticity" as a legitimate essence of a work
of art and equates it closely with "originality."
I can't think of a better word than "organic" to describe the variability of
the process. A platinum print is more organic than a silver enlargement. A gum
is more organic than platinum, etc. As has been pointed out, the more organic
the process, the more it is "of the printer."
Wobbling about how big shots have drones print their work does not in my mind
effect the authenticity of it. The issue is as Carl mentions how close a
collaboration the artist has with the assistants. I don't think I would have
any trouble signing a print "rss imp." If made in my lab, under my direct
supervision, with the aid of assistants so long as I was there throughout the
process. Having darkroom assistants "help" in the process is different than
sending stuff off to have it made.
I drift afar but food for thought.
--Dick Sullivan
505-474-0890 FAX 505-474-2857
<http://www.bostick-sullivan.com>http://www.bostick-sullivan.com
http://www.workingpictures.com
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