Warhol, Samaras and Barthes

The readings this week were such a relief because they were so easy to read and understand while still being thought provoking. I do not think that there is a single artist that does not know Andy Warhol and it was great to read these quotes because they added more to his pieces. The general categories talked about were business in art and emotion or emptiness and how he likes boring art. He gives a chance for the audience, reader or viewer to either agree with him or disagree wholeheartedly with these comments; knowing that no matter what, at least they are paying more attention to what he is saying. What is extremely thought provoking to me was that he might be doing this to market himself, this type of persona was made to make his artwork more widely spread. This also makes me wonder what kind of person he really was.
An autointerview is a great way to direct a conversation – each question and answer is exactly what you want it to be. Samaras turns this into an art form, and through it, portrays a persona much like Warhol does. A similarity that I got from both was not being entirely sure which part was the truth and what was artificial or only for the public. Is it necessary to hide or to portray only a sliver of you as an artist? Is that what our art pieces are doing? Is it necessary to market ourselves along with our work? What purpose would that have?
Roland Barthes’s reading brought up the topic of originality possibilities. Is it really possible to have an original piece of work? Is the artist’s hand as important in the work anymore? How much power is in the viewer’s hands as compared to the artists? As enlightening as this negative piece of work is, I believe that every piece of artwork is original. Even if it were exactly the same as another piece, the fact that artist is different, that it was made in a different time, makes the piece new. I also believe that it will also be possible to make original work. Each artist is guided by unique experiences, that, although might be similar to someone else’s, can still provide the basis to making original artwork.