On authorship and collaboration
Considering authorship, plagiarism and derivate work, I think originality is a limiting factor to have as one’s main goal or purpose. Keith Johnstone (2007[1979]) dedicates a chapter to originality in Impro: Improvisation and the theatre.
Many students block their imaginations because they’re afraid of being unoriginal. They believe they know exactly what originality is, just as critics are always sure they can recognise things that are avant-garde. Johnstone (2007|1979]:87)
We have a concept of originality based on things that already exist. […] But the real avant-garde aren’t imitating what other people are doing, or what they did forty years ago; they’re solving the problems that need solving, like how to get a popular theatre with some worth-while content, and they may not look avant-garde at all! Johnstone (2007|1979]:87)
An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He’s not making any decisions, he’s not weighing one idea against another. He’s accepting his first thoughts. Johnstone (2007|1979]:88)
For many artists I think aiming for originality comes with performance anxiety which in turn hinders creativity. A curator or book editor might look for originality or avant-garde as well as make sure no plagiarisms are published or exhibited. (What about paraphrase, pastiche or caricature). But I think the individual artist is better off having other motives as the driving force behind their creative process.
Another aspect of authorship or derivate work is the psychological idea of universal themes as described by Bettelheim (1979 - kolla ref.). Bettelheim describes how fairytales with common themes and structure appear in different cultures and parts of the world. They do this not as a result of ‘travel’ or derivate narratives, but since fairytales are a result of people making up stories to comprehend or narrate the essence of being human.
If these mechanics also apply to photography, it’s only natural that common themes or even forms of visual expression manifest themselves in different artists’ work.
Even when working alone both in front of and behind the camera, there can be considerations of collaboration. Azoulay (2016) broadly describes generic categories such as “collaborations recognised over time” and “collaboration as the production of alternative and common histories”. In a post humanism and/or post structuralism theories concerning agency of objects or sociomateriality, gives a perspective to both collaboration and authorship.
Looking at Bus Stop by Carl-Mikael Björk (2021), there are several agents visible in the photo. The bus shed, the snow covered road as well as the actual weather (snow fall, temperature) all contribute not only to how the image turned out, but also to how the act of photographing the image played out. Objects and space are collaborators.
There are also human agents not visible in the photo. The car that just drove by, leaving tire tracks in the snow. The graffiti artist tagging the bus shed ten years ago. The industrial designer coming up with the construction and placement of the shed. The land owner growing and looking after the forest area. Could these agents be considered collaborators? Should they even be attributed with authorship?
