Artistic license is a colloquial term, sometimes a euphemism, used to denote
the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language,
or rewording of pre-existing text made by an artist in the name of art.
Etymology In British English, "license" is a verb,
the noun is "licence", hence to a British reader this article refers to
Artistic Licence. History
The artistic license may also refer to the ability of an artist to apply
smaller distortions, such as a poet ignoring some of the minor requirements
of grammar for poetic effect. For example, Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans,
Countrymen, lend me your ears" from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar would
technically require the word "and" before "countrymen", but the conjunction
"and" is omitted to preserve the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Conversely, on the
next line, the end of "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" has an extra
syllable because omitting the word "him" would make the sentence unclear, but
adding a syllable at the end would not disrupt the meter. Both of these are
examples of artistic license. Another example of artistic license is
the way in which stylized images of an object are different from their real
life counterparts, but are still intended to be interpreted by the viewer
as representing the same thing. This can mean the omission of details, or the
simplification of shapes and colour shades, even to the point that the image
is nothing more than a pictogram. It can also mean the addition of non-existing
details, or exaggeration of shapes and colours, as in fantasy art or a
caricature. Certain stylizations have become fixed
conventions in art; an agreement between artist and viewer that is understood and
undebated. A striking example is how in simple cartoon drawings monochromatic
white parts on a dark coloured surface are immediately recognized by most
viewers to represent the reflection of light on a smooth or wet surface.
In summary, artistic license is: Entirely at the artist's discretion
Intended to be tolerated by the viewer Useful for filling in gaps, whether they
be factual, compositional, historical or other gaps
Used consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally or in
tandem Dramatic license
Artistic license is often referred to as dramatic license when it involves the
glamorization of real-world occupations for the sake of exciting television or
cinematic experience. For example, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and other
police procedural programs typically omit completely the more mundane aspects
of the occupation such as paperwork, reports, administrative duties and other
daily "business-oriented" aspects which in reality often constitute the majority
of police work. They will also present other duties with much more action,
suspense or drama than would be experienced in reality. The same is also
true for many military-oriented adventure stories which often show
high-ranking characters being allowed to continuously enter dangerous situations
when in reality, they would usually be restricted to command-oriented or
administrative duties. Controversy and criticism
Artistic license often provokes controversy by offending those who
resent the reinterpretation of cherished beliefs or previous works. Artists often
respond to these criticisms by pointing out that their work was not intended to
be a verbatim portrayal of something previous and should be judged only on
artistic merit. Artistic license is a generally accepted practice,
particularly when the result is widely acclaimed. William Shakespeare's
historical plays, for example, are gross distortions of historical fact but are
nevertheless lauded as outstanding literary works.
Critical voices are sometimes raised when artistic license is applied to
cinematic and other depictions of real historical events. While slight
manipulation for dramatic effect of chronology and character traits are
generally accepted, some critics feel that depictions that present a
significantly altered reality are irresponsible, particularly because many
viewers and readers do not know the actual events and may thus take the
dramatized depiction to be true to reality. Examples of films and
television series criticized for excessive use of dramatic license
include Disney's Pocahontas, Oliver Stone's Alexander, the HBO series Rome
and Showtime's The Tudors. Writers adapting a work for another
medium often make significant changes, additions to, or omissions from the
original plot in the book, on the grounds that these changes were
necessary to make a good film. These changes are sometimes to the dismay of
fans of the original work. References