When Interpretation Becomes Authority

A research dialogue between Post-Interpretive Criticism and the Semiotics of Non-intentional Ephemerality.

This research dialogue is Dorian Vale’s editorial account of written correspondence with Alexander V. Markov in September and October 2026. It examines how interpretations acquire authority through their reuse in catalogues, labels, archives, teaching, and institutional procedures. Bringing Post-Interpretive Criticism into exchange with the Semiotics of Non-intentional Ephemerality, the discussion distinguishes the preservation of a text from its continuing jurisdiction, verification from warrant migration and reauthorization, and an effective correction from the maintenance of its effects. Markov’s semantic protocol and hypothetical history of correction and lapse are considered alongside Vale’s proposals concerning contestability, distributed responsibility, and the continuity of justificatory burden. The accompanying study, After the Interpretation Changes, supplies a separately authored documentary case concerning Simon Maris’s Isabella; its evidence limits the stronger theoretical claims. The dialogue asks how time, place, and role affect the authority of records, and what would distinguish a changed answer from a change in the conditions governing it. The exchanges are condensed thematic paraphrases. Selection, framing, and wording are Vale’s responsibility; this is neither a transcript nor a jointly authored statement. Disagreement and proposals not accepted by both correspondents remain explicit.

Authorship and contribution. Dorian Vale is the sole editorial author and is affiliated with Museum of One, the publisher. Alexander V. Markov (Alexander Viktorovich Markov; Александр Викторович Марков) is the scholarly interlocutor and intellectual contributor. Museum institutions and artworks discussed in the dialogue are research subjects, not author affiliations or sponsoring organizations.

Edition and provenance. Version 1.0; October 2026 edition; 9 pages; English. The text draws on written correspondence from September and October 2026. This edition was publicly deposited on 11 November 2026. The editorial text is in copyright; rights in the original correspondence remain with its respective authors.

Research context. Published in Museum of One’s The Dialogues series and linked to the Alexander Viktorovich Markov: Critical Language and Lasting Correction research programme. Post-Interpretive Criticism and the Semiotics of Non-intentional Ephemerality remain distinct intellectual frameworks in this exchange.

Publication and preservation. Publisher’s article page · Museum of One Archive, MOO-CAT-022. The related working paper After the Interpretation Changes is a separately authored documentary study cited in this dialogue.