Joe, pre-class, Jencks

I found the eleven canons easy to understand individually, but I do not understand how they all tie together as values of postmodern art and architecture. Also, given the quality of the photos, I found it difficult to understand the application of these canons. But what stuck out to me the most, was the second paragraph of this piece. “The only escape from rule-governed art is to suppress from consciousness the canons behind one’s creativity (281).” Obviously as an artist (let’s assume at least a moderately successful one), one is at the mercy of their audience when it comes to the interpretation of their work. Even when you detail your intentions behind the work, someone will always have a different interpretation. And they own that, you cannot take that away from them. Nonetheless, as an artist, how can you let audience interpretations tell you what you should or should not create? How can there be “preconditions for creativity” (281)? Does that not stifle the creativity of a work of art? If I were going to sit down and compose a photograph, I wouldn’t be worried about how someone else may interpret my work (other than a client of course) or be conscious of these rules and conventions. So why do these canons matter? What does anyone gain from having these rules and following them?