The Case of the Missing Author: Toward an Anatomy of Collaboration in Comics

Abstract

In a January 2012 interview for BBC4, Matthew Cain questions the painter David Hockney on his use of assistants. Cain is trying to get at whether Hockney’s three assistants produce any of his art. But Hockney doesn’t bite. He says that he made “all the marks” and that an assistant would never pick up a paintbrush. The role of the assistant is purely that of the logistical helper; he or she does physical work, but not the work most associated with the production of capital “A” art: the relationship of the hand, the eye, and the heart. David Hockney is an art star, significant as both commercial brand and artist. His name confers value to his artwork. An anonymous painting that looked like a David Hockney piece, but wasn’t, would be dismissed as either a valueless imitation or a forgery. Even people who cannot afford a David Hockney work have some stake in its authenticity, otherwise interviewers like Matthew Cain would not ask questions about it. It is a relief that Hockney “made all the marks.”