And no, the artist labels it, and you search for it. It's like chefs calling certain meals deconstructions of old dishes. They set out to do it, it's up to the critic to agree they met that. And as art tends to be, it's divisive.
Eh. As far as I'm concerned, unless the work itself is radical or challenging in some fundamental way (i.e not a superhero movie), then it ought to speak for itself. I would think only inexperienced or less talented artists have cause to come out and clarify, label or make excuses for their art. And it's only the pretentious ones that publicly defend themselves by claiming their work to be too far beyond their audience.
It's a questionable attitude, and a really iffy PR move. It makes me less confident in the Justice League film, even in light of the positive shift in direction.