Unless copyright restrictions on the reproduction of visual texts are relaxed,there will be no significant growth of the kinds of intertextual reading which include wide-scale knowledge of visual imagery. Literature has been seen as anélitist domain because of the often elaborate codings used within itsstructures, but at least literature, and writing in general, are accessible topeople who can read. In contrast, however, visual art is a field that isdelimited to varying degrees by laws that govern property ownership, copyrightof reproduction, and the moral rights of the artists who create its'materiality'. There are various economies operating throughout the territoryof the art world, and as well as these economies are the politics governingboth the worth (in every sense) of art-works, and the various ways in which artwill be viewed. It is often difficult to find a way through the maze ofarts bureaucracies. To publish any document which seeks to use visual languageas much as its verbal counterpart -- to procure (and pay for) permission toreproduce images not belonging to the assembler, and to publish them in colour -- is almost always an impossible (and certainly an economically unviable)proposition. Why is it, that images occupy such an exclusive positionin this society; that there are invisible, but powerful forces seeking toprevent experimentation with, and exploration of, the language of visualimages. In order to read inter-imagically, reproductions of visual images needto be available to the general community. Many artists' works, for instance,have never been reproduced in colour, and some are not likely to be, whilethese works remain in often highly inaccessible places: whether private orpublic. There are various web sites displaying the works of artists, but private andbureaucratic ownership images often makes viewing (or reproducing) thoseimages, either almost, or completely, impossible. Certainly, many works arecurrently inaccessible to the general population. Reading intertextually is a creative process, and it is possible to imaginemany works, but seeing a text, even if only in reproduction, is obviouslypreferable to not being able to see the text at all. Intertextuality relies onthere being texts with which to intertext. With many texts becomingweb-oriented, a textual realm might have arrived, where reading intertextuallyand inter-imagically can take place unhindered (by the constraints oftenimplicit in obtaining and reading material texts). Many institutions (such asthe Australian National Gallery) are re-thinking the 'wisdom' of making theirworks available in a medium that makes it easy to down-load those images. Various government institutions, and otherweb-controlling bodies, are becoming increasingly aware of the potentialeconomics of the web. The availability of many texts, including even writtentexts, however, may decrease rather than increase with increased use of the webas a textual medium. This will be especially so where texts are available onlyto readers with access to the, as yet still very privileged, textual space ofthe world wide web. Copyright continues to restrict the practice ofinter-imagic reading; and whereas the world wide web might alleviate thissituation, it seems that the economics that surround the world of visual artwill continue to operate, even though an ideal (albeit privileged) inter-imagicmaterial textuality is now in operation. I understand that the estate of Sidney Nolan may be entitled to payment if I were to profit financially by reproducing Kelly, 1946 on this site. As it is, however, I want to draw that image into an intertextual assemblage in order to explore how it is that reading inter-imagically might be described. The image entitled screen, 1998 is one way of depicting the kind of reading practice I hope to see enter more fully into discussions of art/web/(inter)textual theories. Diane Caney, 1998 References and Notes Todd, Stephen. 'Left Bank on disc.' Weekend Australian: Syte (Nov. 30-Dec 1 1996): 6.
One has to be an academician -- deader
than a fossil -- to complete a dictionary in any language
whatsoever. Weak people would begin to think about the first
letter of the alphabet, and they would soon rush into madness!
Rimbaudaccess denied
© all rights reserved
1. Gyongyi Smee, of the ANG, says that the ANG has delayed its virtual project because it fears unauthorised down-loading of the images provided in that space (in conversation with me in July, 1996). Stephen Todd reports, however, that both the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre have just released CD-ROMs, and also have web sites. Clemence Berg, the multimedia co-ordinator for the Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN), says, '[I]f we didn't do it, someone else would ... Technically ... the art works are public property, and anyone can easily get hold of images of the Mona Lisa and whip up a bit of text to go with it' (Todd 6). Todd reports that the CD-ROM Musée d'Orsay Virtual Visit (which accompanies exhibitions of its works), 'takes you on an interactive tour of the museum using Quicktime VR to create 360-degree images of galleries spread out over three floors. Click on any of two hundred art-works, and you call up detailed files on the artist's life and times' (6). The 'virtual visit' is designed to accompany the 'hard-copy' exhibition of the museums' works. ('Paris in the Late 19th Century' was exhibited at the ANG in December 1996-January 1997.)
