Authorial Intent and Drawn Conclusions

“Just by putting images together, relationships between things are suggested, whether they exist in real life or not. If  you run three images together in sequence, people are going to draw a conclusion between them, and I wanted to play with this. A large part of the construction of almost any communication has to be its recreation by the person who experiences it. And this is not going to be the same all the time. it’s going to change with the viewer.” (Daniel and Aitken, 89-90)

I have been questioning over the last week my understanding of these stains and how that affects my experience of stain collection. From that (in combination with my increasing fear of the nearing presentation date) I’ve been wondering how my understanding of these stains will affect the outcome of this class/the presentation. I think I may have come to a decision; I don’t care.

I was reading about filmmaker Bruce Conner and his famous work A MOVIE. When talking about this film, he discussed how a viewer makes their own connections between things, even if not such connection exists or was intended (see above quote). I will continue to collect/photograph both stains I know the origin of and those which I do not, but in the end I will leave it to chance to create my understanding of these stains in relation to one another and to me.

In literary theory, many believe that the authorial intention is irrelevant to the reader’s understanding of the book and should not be taken into account. Ernest Hemingway once said “books should be judged by those who read them—not explained by the writer.” (Venturino)

“Most literary theory is based on the idea that a literary text takes on a life of its own once it’s written. According to this view, any novel—like any poem or movie—stands complete by itself, and your interpretation should be based on what the work itself says. As a reader, your job is to appreciate and understand what’s on the page, not to guess at what might have been in the author’s mind.” (Venturino)

I wonder how I can develop my presentation with the intention of the viewer/spectator not knowing my authorial intent. Even further, I wonder if I can develop a project without authorial intent. Through this, how can I make the most opportunity for my audience to make their own connections, just as Bruce Conner aspired to in A MOVIE.

Daniel, N. and Aitken, D. (2006). Broken screen. New York: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers.
Venturino, S. (2015). The Complete Idiot’s Guides | How to Articles for everyone, everywhere. [online] Idiot’s Guides. Available at: http://www.idiotsguides.com/arts-and-entertainment/fiction/literary-theory-what-is-authorial-intention/ [Accessed 15 Nov. 2015].