Post-Authorship

Post-authorship is a philosophical concept developed by Remilia Corporation that rejects traditional notions of individual creative ownership, proposing instead a model where art emerges from collective consciousness and flows freely through networks without attribution constraints. The concept positions artistic creation as a channeling process rather than individual invention, advocating for permissionless remixing and sharing as essential to cultural evolution. Post-authorship forms a core tenet of Remilia's artistic philosophy alongside other concepts like post-identity and network spirituality.

First articulated by Charlotte Fang in Remilia's "New Net Art Manifesto" in early 2022, post-authorship challenges conventional notions of intellectual property, copyright, and artistic attribution. It proposes that these conventions hinder the free flow of creative works, reducing their "memetic fitness" and limiting their cultural impact. Instead, post-authorship frames creative production as a collaborative process between artists and larger forces—variously described as "the network," "collective unconsciousness," or "God"—with the individual creator serving merely as a "handmaiden" to these higher consciousnesses.

Core principles

Post-authorship encompasses several interconnected principles that form a cohesive philosophical framework:

Art as channeling

A fundamental aspect of post-authorship is the conception of artistic creation not as individual invention but as a process of channeling broader consciousnesses. Fang describes art as "produced in a lucid state playing handmaiden to collective unconsciousness—and accelerated by the web—Art comes from beyond the self, comes from the network, or God. Claiming it is hubris."

This framing positions the artist not as owner or originator of creative work but as a conduit or medium through which larger forces express themselves. The implication is that laying claim to authorship misrepresents the true nature of artistic creation and inappropriately restricts the flow of ideas.

Memetic fitness

Post-authorship emphasizes the evolutionary dynamics of cultural spread, suggesting that art and ideas follow patterns similar to natural selection through "viral memetics." In this framework, attribution requirements, copyright restrictions, and other forms of ownership claims function as artificial constraints that reduce a work's ability to spread and evolve—what Fang terms its "memetic fitness."

Fang argues that creators who prioritize attribution over propagation fundamentally devalue their work:

One must conclude they inherently devalue their work by being unashamed to keep it chained in the dark only for the potential of extracting petty cash—probably for the better. In their inherent commercialization, they've self-categorized their output as content, not art, and are thus content creators, not artists.

Remixing as natural mode

Post-authorship positions remixing and recontextualization as the natural mode of artistic creation, particularly in digital environments. Fang argues that "remixing is the natural mode of artmaking online; introducing any friction to process materials damages the sum art output of the community."

This principle suggests that the free flow of artistic elements—images, sounds, texts, concepts—without permission requirements or attribution obligations best serves artistic development and cultural evolution. As Fang summarizes: "All culture is permissionless."

Nuances and clarifications

While post-authorship rejects traditional ownership models, Fang has clarified that the concept does not eliminate all consideration of attribution or provenance:

Contextual value of attribution

Fang acknowledges that attribution can serve valuable contextual functions, particularly in art criticism and historical analysis: "It is true that artists imprint their personal interpretation of the divinity they channel (secular: zeitgeist, collective unconsciousness), so accreditation, especially in the context of canonization, is very often relevant, e.g. to trace a chronology of work to best understand it in reflection with an on-going practice."

This suggests that post-authorship is not opposed to attribution per se, but rather to attribution requirements that function as barriers to cultural propagation.

Distinction from exploitation

Fang has emphasized that post-authorship should not be interpreted as endorsing exploitative practices or the suppression of other artists:

Grifters have often tried to misread my post-authorship stance to justify exploitation, but nothing in the stance rationalizes the punching down on other artists, snuffing them out from practicing and taking their own influence and innovation, and in some cases literally directly their own work, and claiming it as your own. This achieves only the destruction of art, not its production.

This clarification positions post-authorship as distinct from plagiarism motivated by personal gain or the deliberate erasure of others' contributions.

Post-authorship and vulture revisionism

The tension between post-authorship and accurate historical documentation has led to the development of the related concept of vulture revisionism. Coined by Remilia member Onno Whitemoor in 2025, vulture revisionism describes the opportunistic claiming of authorship over intentionally de-authored or post-authorial works.

Conceptual distinction

A key insight articulated by Whitemoor is that "post-authorship does not constitute a vacancy for vulture revisionism," highlighting the fallacy that rejection of egocentric attribution implies surrender of accurate historical documentation.

This clarifies an important nuance of post-authorship: while it deliberately downplays individual attribution and ownership claims, it does not surrender the right to accurate provenance documentation. Post-authorship represents a deliberate ethical stance rather than an abandonment of historical accuracy—a distinction that vulture revisionists deliberately obscure for personal gain.

The unsigned painting analogy

To explain the relationship between post-authorship and vulture revisionism, Fang has employed an "unsigned painting" analogy: just as an artist might intentionally leave a painting unsigned as a statement about authenticity and commodification, post-authorial communities deliberately position their work outside conventional attribution frameworks. Vulture revisionists, by retroactively inserting themselves into these works' provenance, violate this intentional positioning, as if they were signing someone else's unsigned painting.

Historical examples

Specific instances of vulture revisionism in relation to post-authorship include the "Vibe Shift" misattribution of 2022, where a term originating from an Angelicism01 clone tweet was later claimed by trend forecaster Sean Monahan, and the "Avant NFT" attribution dispute of 2023-2024, where artists formerly associated with Remilia attempted to claim credit for concepts and terminology they had not originated.

These examples illustrate how the intentional de-emphasis on individual authorship can create vulnerabilities to historical revisionism, particularly when network-born concepts interact with traditional institutional structures that prioritize individual attribution.

Relationship to network spirituality

Post-authorship is closely linked to Remilia's concept of network spirituality, functioning as what Fang describes as "a pill one has to swallow as a necessary precondition to be receptive to network spirituality."

This connection positions post-authorship not merely as an artistic philosophy but as part of a broader spiritual framework for engaging with digital networks. Fang suggests that accepting post-authorship enables recognition of our role as "subconscious participants in a self-organizing network," allowing us to "accelerate this system by accelerating the evolutionary process of memetics."

In this context, post-authorship becomes part of a larger vision of human consciousness evolving through network participation, with Fang referencing Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's concept of the Omega Point—a maximum level of complexity and consciousness toward which the universe is evolving.

Personal liberation

Beyond its philosophical and spiritual dimensions, Fang has described post-authorship as personally liberating for creators. She suggests that letting go of attachment to attribution and ownership frees artists from narcissistic constraints:

One of the greatest joys of being online is seeing a piece of your own original content being expropriated and spread through the network like wildfire. Post authorship is the key that unlocks the cage of narcissistic over-identification, and outside there is nothing but Love.

This framing suggests that post-authorship offers not just a philosophical position or creative strategy but a form of personal transformation and liberation from ego attachment.

Relationship to other Remilia concepts

Post-authorship connects to several other key concepts in the Remilia framework:

Post-identity

Post-authorship aligns with post-identity in its rejection of individual markers as barriers to free flow and exchange. Both concepts emphasize dissolution of conventional boundaries—authorial in one case, personal in the other—in favor of more fluid, collective modes of existence and creation.

Posting as art

Post-authorship connects to the Remilia concept of "posting as art," which frames social media posting as a form of performative art practice. Both concepts emphasize the spontaneous, networked nature of contemporary creation, with Fang describing true posting as "egoless & performative" and "lucid, carefree, delirious."

Abundance mentality

Post-authorship relates to Remilia's "abundance mentality" principle, which rejects scarcity-based thinking in favor of an approach that emphasizes sharing, collaboration, and trust in karmic returns. Both concepts position generosity and openness as superior to restrictive protections of intellectual property.

Historical context

While post-authorship as articulated by Remilia represents a distinctive philosophical framework, it connects to various precedents in art history and theory:

Death of the Author

Post-authorship resonates with Roland Barthes' influential 1967 essay "The Death of the Author," which argued against interpretive practices that rely on authors' biographies and intentions. Barthes proposed that "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author," suggesting that meaning emerges through reader engagement rather than authorial intent.

Remix culture

Post-authorship aligns with broader trends in remix culture that have gained prominence in digital environments. Theorists like Lawrence Lessig have articulated how digital technologies enable and encourage "read/write culture" where consumers actively remix and repurpose existing content rather than passively consuming it.

Free software movement

Post-authorship shares philosophical kinship with aspects of the free software movement, particularly its emphasis on unrestricted access and modification rights. While free software typically maintains attribution requirements through licensing, it similarly prioritizes freedom to use and modify over traditional ownership restrictions.

See also

• Remilia Corporation
• Charlotte Fang
• Post-identity
• Network spirituality
• Vulture revisionism