The choice for the permanent silence does not negate the work. By contrast, a power granted retroactively additional authority and that of which reneged: the repudiation of the work becomes a new source of validity, proof of unquestionable reliability. This seriously is not to interpret forever, as an “end”. The really serious attitude is one that interprets the art as a “means” to achieve something that may only be achieved when leaving the art.
Susan Sontag