methodology 1

The ideas of” Work” and “Text” are crucial in the interpretation and conceptualization of art, especially in the works at the Carnegie International. Specifically, Bruce Conner’s works can viewed using Barthe’s ideas in “From Work to Text” to create distinct interpretations of the art that are forever changing. The idea behind Barthe’s work was that “Text” was a reaction to work that could never be repeated or interpreted (157-58). Essentially, “Text” is something that is forever changing with the conditions it is presented with. It is not something that is meant to be interpreted, but it is meant to provide the idea of interpretation. The “Text” is not the physical aspect but the process. In Barthes’ “From Work to Text” he writes, “the work can be seen (in bookshops, in catalogues, in exam syllabuses), the text is a process of demonstration.” (157) Bruce Conner’s “works” are the physical pieces of art which he displays. In the case of the Carnegie International, his photograms featured in his series, Angel, would be his “work.” But the process of viewing and the whole display in itself would combine to form the “Text.” The idea behind “Text” for Bruce Conner’s work would be to combine the ideas of both viewing and the creation of the pieces. Instead of focusing on the interpretation of the piece, the “Text” of the work would be the overall effect created immediately upon the combination of the viewing process and the construction of the work. In simplest terms the “Text” would become the feelings the work evokes. Each “Text” is different from person to person. The overall feel of the work is never the same, due to the layout, the day, the person, the place, and several other factors. The factors are ever changing and therefore the interpretation is forever changing. The feelings can never be interpreted because they are distinct to that day, that hour, that minute, and that second. Without feelings the work becomes boring, just as without the idea of “Text” books can become boring. It is the changes that make something interesting to continuously read or look at. The “Text” brings pleasure to a work just as the feelings bring pleasure to a piece of art. The process of creating new interpretations and ideas causes the something to become more than just mundane.

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Barthes, Roland. Image Music Text. Trans. Stephen Heath. United States of America, 1977.