Activity 6.2- What is an Author?

 

Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889

    Historically, we have treated the artist or author as the source of meaning in a work of art, assuming their intentions and personal biography determine how we should interpret it. Foucault challenged this view by stating that the author isn’t where meaning originates, it is more of a cultural label, an “author-function,” that helps us sort and manage ideas. Meaning arises not from the individual creator but from the broader ideas and history around it. The author-function doesn’t simply shape how we interpret a work of art, it controls how works are grouped, valued and shared within a society. This becomes especially clear when we consider how our interpretations shift depending on if a work is attributed to a known creator or not.

When we encounter an anonymous artwork, we interpret it through its visible qualities, color, emotion, form, without the constraints of an author’s identity. But once a name like Picasso is attached, those interpretations shift. The work becomes seen through a different lens, attaching views such as Cubism, Picasso’s biography, his other works and his reputation. The meaning of the piece is no longer open but now regulated by the author-function Foucault speaks about. While the artist may generate the work, the meaning we permit it to have is shaped by the author-function rather than the artist’s personal intentions.

A clear example of this is Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. When viewed without knowledge of its creator, the painting might be seen as simply a swirling, expressive night sky, a study in movement, color and emotional intensity. However, once the name “van Gogh” is attached, the painting becomes entangled with narratives about van Gogh’s mental health, his time in the Saint-Remy asylum, and the broader mythology of the tortured genius. These associations narrow the range of possibilities around meaning. In this way, the author-function shapes not only how the painting is understood but how it is categorized, historicized and valued within the art world.

Foucault’s theory of the author-function argues that meaning is never simply the expression of an individual but the product of the cultural systems it is created under. Whether we view a work anonymously or under a famous name, our understanding is shaped less by the artist’s intentions and more by the frameworks that surround them. Recognizing this helps reveal how deeply our interpretive habits are affected by cultural influences than by the work alone.

 

Sources

Doyle, J. (2023). Week 6- Meaning and Interpretation. Art Theory and Criticism. 

Freeland, C. (2003). Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Foucault, Michel. (1969) What is an Author? Cornell University Press.

Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889. MoMA Learning. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889/