William Ralph Inge
Diving back into the archives of my single document; this quote about art comes from page 10, probably around about 2011. All thing have their time!
I like this one. It appears to me to be so very insightful and incisive.
Originality. How original is anything? I kind of love that he almost suggests that there is no such thing as originality. That things only appear original because nobody has yet been able to identify the source from which the inspiration has flowed.
I pretty much agree that nothing in and of itself is entirely original. I assume it is so with music and writing - that someone has previously put together those 6 notes in the same sequence; or that the metaphor used to describe a certain something has also been used somewhere else previously.
With art I oftentimes think that little bits and pieces may be gleaned and pulled together in a new and individual way; not copied but the inspiration or response to something can be found if we stop to investigate. We see so many things these days; we have a response to a colour, a shape, a layout, or a look and it might sit in our memory bank for years and then re-emerge within something else.
There is a dissolving point along a spectrum between 'originality' and 'inspired by' and I think that makes for a great conversation!
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| Crossed letter from Catherine Dickens to Fanny Burnett |
And this is a funny one. I told a friend a few weeks ago about how I was hoping to resolve a stitching problem. Today I was scrolling through photos from a trip to New York in 2013, looking for images re originality/plagiarism, and here is an image of something that I have been thinking of doing! Who knows where my idea came from - was it this image, or reading, or whatever...what I do know is that it isn't original!
this is something I often ponder over when producing work. The very tools we use in our work are often aimed at specific task so is that work original, even if we use them in a slightly different way? I make work predominantly inspired by ideas, words, I love a good theme and try to get as I feel an original interpretation in my textile pieces. I do not think I have made pieces inspired or aiming to produce a landscape or natural object/s. My trees would be part of an idea. It is such an interesting question you pose. I hope you get many responses.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for my tardiness Irene! It remains a really interesting notion to investigate I think - as you say is the use of a tool in different way original? There seems to me to be a difference somewhere between copying or reproducing and originality. Originality feels more elusive - the concept, the idea, the representation, the associations - has anybody else ever used red thread to demonstrate reckless abandon? Probably yes...I can spin off in a million directions with this sort of thought- thanks for chiming in!
Deleteand yet I can hear a single chord played in a song and know who played it and what song it is... ie almost anything by Jimi Hendrix, Santana or Pink Floyd
ReplyDeleteSo I wonder what it is you are hearing that makes it original? What take on it they have done or if they have a signature sound? Such a rich vein for investigation. Original versus unique is another angle one can follow...I just went down a big rabbit hole about that and decided it was way too waffly to include here; but I love that music has some very original moments!
Deleteyou've chosen an apt illustration for this concept ... how hard it can be to tease out the many sources that inspire an "original" work ... in an interesting twist on this idea, I'm reminded that copyright doesn't cover recipes (although it can cover the text that describes them)
ReplyDeleteand I have been surprised more than once in looking back at my posts: "oh wow, that's cool. How did I come up with that?" ... one of the reasons I'm so appreciative of your many posts about process, which definitely inform my thinking and making
Well I never knew that about copyright and recipes!!! Amazing. I love it when I come across the smallest, hieroglyphic, note to self about an idea and realise what it has become. My brain does leap here and there and connect and get excited by things quickly at times, so I can end up a fair way away from the 'original' notion, thought, or idea; but it still has its genesis back there...who knows? Lots left to think about in this one!
Deleteand copy right varies from country to country so can be a minefield when sending abroad for exhibition.
DeleteI understood about different countries, different copyright but must admit I had never thought my way thru how that might impact work for exhibition internationally - good point!
DeleteF - and there are times that we are not even conscious of being inspired by; or realising that of all the people in the world and across time it it likely that two or more folk have had similar ideas. I do think one can recognise the difference between - inspired by, influence by and direct copying. A good quote for discussion though. B
ReplyDeleteI agree B! It would be fun be fun to have a graph or a line and plot things like inspiration, influence, copy and see what tips something over into copy...
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