ITAP LECTURE WEEK 1

Notions of Originality

Many famous pieces of artwork are influenced by previous artists work and when looked at closely are very similar using the same layout and design. Many have also obviously just been copied using the exact same idea but maybe changing it slightly, for example using different people but the same pose. Therefore some people would say this doesn't make them original because they are just using old ideas. For example, you would look at this image of Marilyn Monroe and instantly think of Andy Warhol’s version done in 1962 where as this image is done by a different artist in 2004 but he has used the same idea using the same colours. However some people may argue that it is original because he hasn’t used the same technique, he has only modernised it using the same pose and colours and used it for a different purpose. I think to be original you need to try and think of your own ideas, you are not being original if you just practically copy someone else’s idea, however I think it is also a good idea to look at previous artists work to get some inspiration.

Can Recontextualised Ideas be Contemporary?

In my opinion, recontextualised ideas can be contemporary because for example, this idea has been taken and used again by many artists and the newest ones still look contemporary. However I think this only works with certain ideas because other pieces of work done years ago are classed as old fashioned. I also think the idea of showing what happens in a certain time in one image has worked well when the idea has been copied. The original idea was done in 1425 and completed in the 1480’s and shows a story from the Bible in one image, that idea was taken and many artists used it just to show someone walking down a set of stairs but the image looking more contemporary.