OUGD501 - The Open Work by Umberto Eco

The Open Work by Umberto Eco 

'the instrumentalist's freedom is a function of the 'narrative' structure of the piece'  - the musician structures the elements to create narrative within the piece 
'the performer is free to choose how long to hold the note in a fixed framework' - suggests a juxtaposition of restriction and choice for the performer 

'multiply the formal possibilities of the distribution of their elements.' - suggests that a wide range of outcomes can be created with the same elements

'the author presents a finished product with the intention that this particular composition should be appreciated and received in the same form as he devised it' 'the comprehension of the original artifact is always modified by his particular and individual perspective - suggests that a work is received in the same way / format but people have different responses depending on their experiences and perspectives 

' a work of art, therefore, is a complete and closed form ... whilst at the same time constituting an open product on account of its susceptibility to countless different interpretations' - this suggests that a finished and complete work is a closed work however it is open for interpretation and meaning making it open in some respects  

'works like those of Berio and Stockhausen are 'open' in a far more tangible sense.' ' they are quite literally 'unfinished': the author seems to hand them on to the performer more or less like components of a construction kit' - in an open work the piece is left unfinshed so the component parts can be constructed by someone else to create something.

'Tindall eventually concludes that a work of art is a construct which anyone at all, including its author, can put to any use whatsoever as he chooses. This type of criticism views the literary work as a continuous potentiality of 'openness' - in other words an indefinite reserve of meaning' - suggests that literary work has a multitude of available meanings making it 'open'.

''openess' based on the the theoretical, metal collaboration of the consumer, who must freely interpret an artistic datum' - suggests the consumers have to interpret works that are complete in different ways making them open in terms of the interpretation of the work.

'defined as 'works in movement' because they characteristically consist of unplanned  physically incomplete structural units' - suggests works in movement have deliberately unplanned or incomplete sections.

'the 'work in movement' is the possibility of numerous different personal interventions, but is not an amorphous invitation to indiscriminate participation. The invitation offers the performer the opportunity for an orientated insertion into something which always remains the world intended by the author.'  - suggests a work in movement can be recreated by anyone however the work is still by the author.

'a form which is his form will have been organized, even though it may have been assembled by an outside party in a particular way. The author is the one who proposed a number of possibilities which had already been rationally organized, orientated, and endowed with specifications for proper development.' - suggests that there is an overarching form to a work despite being incomplete which allows predetermined possibilities. This is then constructed by someone else however is still the work of the original author as they have created those possibilities.

''open' works ... are characterised by the invitation to make the work together with the author' 

'Every work of art ...is effectively open to a virtually unlimited range of possible readings, each of which causes the work to acquire new vitality in terms of one particular taste, or perspective, or personal performance' - suggests that all art has an infinite amount of possible readings dependent on the viewers taste, experience and performance of the work.