Inspired by pop culture and the music industry, I wanted to explore a new take on Roland Barthes’ theory, Death of An Author, specifically the term “separating the art from the artist.” For this project, I created a series of twelve 11x17 “concert posters” of famous musicians from various times and genres, all of who have been known to be “controversial.” Behind each musician is a typographic texture of “good” and “bad” headlines that have shaped their career. Taking the same headlines from the concert posters, I created a vinyl installation on a large mirror to center the work and equalize the viewer to the icons by bringing a sense of humanization to the work. Next to the posters and vinyl mirror was an interactive vinyl installation that asked viewers to engage in an anonymous data plot of their personal morals and ethics presented in a very public setting. The success of the installation depended on the interaction from the audience as the install was constantly evolving and ever changing, serving as a direct reflection of the nature behind the problematic “cancel culture” movement pop culture created. 

When a popular musician commits an unfavorable action and is perceived to be behaving badly, fans question if it is wrong to continue to like their music. With this in mind, is it possible to separate the art from the artist, or should the musician become another casualty of “cancel culture?”