Identity & Authorship

In light of what Auditus has to say about Madonna and popular culture, I feel some necessity in speaking of identity. More specifically, I want to discuss the related issues of sole authorship, individual creativity, and genius that are activated when one employs the term “artist” in its singular appellation. My contention here is that we as a society that lauds the work and success of the individual are plagued by an ideological disease that we might call the fetish of the lone creative genius. Taking Madonna as my example here as well, I think anyone who knows much of anything about the contemporary music business knows that Madonna is just one part of the machine. Auditus rightly notes that she does not play the instruments on her songs, does not produce the tracks, does not write the music, and can hardly be assumed to write the entirety of the lyrics. Yet despite our awareness of these facts, we still rage and moan that she is undeserving of any such honors because she is not a real artist. True, Madonna is not responsible for her own creations, but the same is true of many other artistic pursuits: sculpture, painting, filmmaking, etc. As a supporting piece of evidence I want you to consider Dale Chihuly. At one point this glass artist made his own pieces, but now he has a team of people who do it for him. I have heard the same is true of Matthew Barney. All this being said, my point is that we are deluding ourselves twofold. First we assume the term artist is appropriate for these times when nearly every consumer pursuit has become an industry dependent on the labor of dozens if not hundreds of others. Second, all of the old standards of artistic production that we believe are essential—singularity of vision, a direct link between the creator and the thing created, etc.—are simply untrue for many pursuits in popular mediums. I grant you that there are individuals who do all of their own work, but the old moniker is simply no longer accurate for a majority of the cases, particularly as regards popular culture. This is why I am proposing, and only slightly tongue in cheek, that we consider a category of artistic creation as indicative of the best assemblage of the output of others. Madonna, Chihuly, Warhol,

and numerous filmmakers would certainly fit better in this category. Such a shift is only fair for the myriad and unacknowledged others who make the sounds of our contemporary sirens so seductive. So yes, an end to ghost writers, second directors, and all of those faceless souls who receive far less credit than is deserved. Death to the singular notion of the creative, popular artist; long live popular artistS.