What is originality?
How would you define originality?
Something that's not been done before, not being the norm, independent, unique
Does originality exist?
It's harder than it was because everything has been done already and now it's all about remaking
Should we try to pursue originality?
Yes, we've got to think about whether originality sit at the top of the hierarchy above remaking
The Monomyth:
'A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man'.
(The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 23)
This quote comes from the book by Joseph Campbell which is the hero's journey and is a central myth of Western art.
What is a myth?
The idea that underpins a culture
The Hero's Journey through the ages:
These are the hero's that have been created in either fictional book characters or in movies below are a list of some:
Moby Dick, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Spider Man.
There is a book called the 'Seven Basic Plots' by Christopher Booker:
Rags to Riches
The Quest
Voyage and Return
Comedy
Tragedy
Rebirth
The Monster
The Culture of the Copy is a book by Hillel Schwartz which focuses on writing about art in the 90's.
'An object uncopiud is under perpetual siege, valued less for itself than for the struggle to prevent its being copied. The more adept the West has become at the making of copies, the more we have exalted uniqueness. it is within the exuberant world of copies that we arrive at our experience of originality.'
(Hillel Schwartz, The Culture of the Copy)
This quote gives the idea that it's confrontational to be original, our lives are full of copies, going back to the stories of the hero's journey through ages the stories have since been told over and over again. NOTHING IS ORIGINAL ANYMORE!
Seasoning added to Stock
This was a weird title when I saw it all I wanted to do was find out what this meant...
Stock = something I'm really interested in and feel comfortable doing
Seasoning = individual/unique individuality
I then got asked the question of, what would I consider to be my stock and what would I add as my seasoning?
I think my stock would be photography and then my seasoning would be adding my own personal test on the images I produce.
'We say we prize originality above all else in art. Originality is the artist’s brilliance, that indefinable something that is distinctly the artist’s and no one else’s. What gets lost in all that praise of individuality is that originality is nothing more than seasoning added to stock. Seasoning gives distinct flavour, its character or charm, if you will, and seasoning gives the distinct taste that immediately identifies the dish as unique. But we forget that the foundation remains the same, and that the chef and the diner both rely on that fact. A chef’s genius is not to create a dish from original ingredients, but to combine standard ingredients in original ways.”
(RonaldTobias, Theme & Strategy)
Thinking about the culture of the copy
The Death of Superman came from the New Testament of Jesus which has been copied but I would never have thought that a Superman film would come from being copied from the New Testament.
I got asked how does the culture of the copy change the way you think about your work?
I then started to think about where my ideas come from? They all come from seeing other artists work and where they get their ideas from. I also get my ideas from the internet which is not the best place for getting inspiration from because that's where most of the copying comes from.
We then watched a clip called 'Everything is a Remix' by Kirby Ferguson. It is quite a long clip so we only watched a short snippet but it was showing how songs have been covered and changed over the years. Some of the songs were different by the title but were the same because they started with the same music and tune. It was really interesting and surprising how many songs have been covered. The question does it matter that stuff comes from somewhere else came up and we all decided that yes it does matter to the original person as they spent a long time on creating and writing the song but as the audience do we care? I didn't even realise that some of the songs featured in the clip were similar or even the same song so no I don't think it does.
Remix Culture
We looked at different versions of the Mona Lisa and thought about what do remixes do to the original? Art changes with time but it doesn't stop the original being a masterpiece.
Cultural Appropriation/Cultural Exchange
Cultural Appropriation = usually defined as the taking on of features of a minority culture by members of a dominant culture
• Cultural appropriation is distinct from cultural exchange.
Cultural Exchange = describes the mutual sharing of information, usually cultural, for th
purpose of improving understanding between them.
Remix Culture: Hip Hop and the Sample
How does hip hop use music of the past and to what effect?
I would say hip hop music uses music from the past in the way of using tunes and harmonies from songs from the past and use them as inspiration. Any genre of music uses stuff from the past as inspiration I would say.
How does it change the original if at all?
I think it changes the original by making people see the song in a different way but wouldn't say people who have heard the original would forget the song but people who grow up with the remade song would only know that but I don't think it will change it too much.
Stevie Wonder, Pastime Paradise and Coolio, gangsta's Paradise are examples of these:
Kanye West is another example of this. He took the artwork of Vincent Desiderio and reworked it to be his album cover which he used to draw attention to selected people. I found this quite controversial because he had Rihanna and Chris Brown on the same piece of artwork which is still a very raw topic for someone like Rihanna so I'm surprised she agreed to it.
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