OUGD601 / Context Of Practice / Further writing / Auteur Theory

Auteur theory, introduced by film director François Truffant in 1954 suggested criteria to define the author of a film, a figure of authority to whom be merited or criticized, a medium which is specifically a result of a broad range of contributors, Autuer theory set to define an individual as an author, originally in film, in order to relate it to art in the sense that a individual could be merited with it’s whole. Andrew Sarris introduced such criteria based upon technical expertise, signature attributes and consistency of conceptual approach. Rock refers to Jean Renoir’s observation that “an artistic director spends his whole career remaking the variations of the same film”, referencing such

“Auteur theory – especially as espoused by the American critic Andrew Saris – speculated that directors must meet three criteria in order to pass into the sacred hall of auteurs.(13) Sarris proposed that the director must demonstrate technical expertise, have a stylistic signature that is visible over the course of several films and, through his or her choice of projects and cinematic treatment, show a consistency of vision and interior meaning.”

The emergence of Graphic Designers as authors, in which the content is dictated by the designer and then applied to an independent environment is particurly relevant to counter culture publishing, with the freedom. This discussion of design process is to be subjective however, as Rock mentions “The designers submits to the will of the system, forgoes personality, withholds interpretation” this submission refers to the scientific approach embodied in Modernist design theory, that there was a objective ‘truth’ in which the design was to attempt to achieve. It was Post Modern design theory that contrasted this greatly, in the sense that no ‘truth’ existed but each work was to adhere to it’s own context with great subjectivity.