The Social Production of Art - Essay Example

It is important to understand that the intentions of the author in a certain work, are never interpreted fully (Wolff 95).

            In The Death of the Author, the author supposes that the death of the author is not occasioned by the birth of the reader. Although the author in the form of a creative, reconstituted, and uniform source is considered to be dead, Wolff describes the author as one who is also part and parcel of the collective consciousness. Although the work may have meanings and thoughts that are that not contemplated by the author or which are not part of the author’s intentions, this does not imply that the author completely lacked such intentions during production. The author also throws light on the creative process, retelling that it is a product of collective consciousness rather than a detached production (Wolff 118).

            In the Origins and novelty: avant-gardes and their reception, the author has accurately drawn the distinction between the view of art as a cultural institution and the view of art as a collective process of self-reflection, within an institutional order. The view of art as a collective process of self-reflection has been described as whereby art is identified with morality as well as the part of moral reflection that is associated with critical action and thought. Halley maintains that this is the aspect of art that is most pertinent for the study of avant-garde art. By and large, Halley successfully shows that the central purpose of the creation of art is to make positive changes within society.