The question of originality is one that can bombard the thoughts of any artist. Most artists want nothing more than to be unique and to create art that stands alone as being undiscovered territory: the first to explore the new land. Despite the deafening sayings out there that all concepts have already been done and that there is nothing new to create, I think artists should refuse to accept that there is nothing original out there. It might be true that all concepts have been tackled, though I think saying that saying is narrow-minded in itself. Where originality comes from is not finding a new concept but how the artist deals with a certain concept.
Every single person has something new to add to the equation. That is called the artistic voice, and it is something that every successful artist has honed and nurtured. All of the artists out there that we can name off the tops of our heads became iconic because they created art that became distinctly theirs. Their art is recognizable as a such-and-such painting or so-and-so photography, but the basic techniques were largely not discovered by these people. The concepts have, in all likelihood, been tackled before. Some artists are known for black and white photographs when they did not patent the black and white photograph. Others are known for shooting landscapes or portraits when they were not the first to do so. When the imagery becomes more conceptual it seems easier to draw a link back to one artist when the truth is that we never can. Even if one person is known for something, they might not have been the first to create it. There might be a number of unknown artists who were creating the same concepts long before the famous person was.
This is why I believe in originality. I believe that not only are all concepts not claimed, but that everyone has the right to explore what they come up with despite it being done before. I know I have had an idea before that I later saw someone else create. That person had no effect on my picture but the concept is the same. Does that mean I am going to stop doing my picture? No way. I am going to keep going and put my own stamp on it. If everything has been done before, it has never been done in my way. With that knowledge I create my work standing steadfast in the thought that no matter what, no one else can do what I do. No one else can do what YOU do.
All too often I see people saying, “I had the same idea but now that so-and-so has done it I won’t do it”. I hate hearing that. I think it is so sad. Even if someone else did it, that doesn’t mean they did it the way you would have. There is no possible way that two pictures from two different people would turn out exactly the same. This does not relate in any way to someone who took an idea from another person. That always requires a mention of where the inspiration comes from. However, people come up with original ideas all the time that others have already touched on. That does not make it any less original.
An original idea is personal. It is something that is informed by both history and personal experience. It is not something that is taken from history. If a person comes up with an original idea it should be celebrated as such. I hate to see people throw away ideas simply because they realize someone else has taken on the concept. You never know when your idea and execution of that idea will make a ripple in the history of imagery.
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very interesting, i try most of the time to be original and not doing the same picture again and again.
This helped a lot!
You dont know how much it did.
Thank you (:
Very articulate and true. I remember someone saying once that even if you wrote a song with all the same chords as another song, it would never come out sounding the same. And that happens in music all the time! How many songs alternate between D A and E and yet sound totally different because the melody is different or there is a unique voice? The same is true in any medium. Having the same concept as someone else doesn’t mean that the picture will be anything like similar. And in fact, anyone who needs proof of this should look at the way artists often learn by doing iconic concepts — a still life, a religious scene, a landscape, etc. A Madonna done by Raphael or Da Vinci or Modigliani can have the same basic composition, and will look nothing alike, because they are done in their artists’ distinctive styles and simply pay homage to a classic artistic theme.
I was told something which i’d like to share with you all, in regards to being supposedly ‘copying’ others.
Yes, this may have been done before, but it’s never been done by you before. Meaning, that once you begin the creative process you already individualize it.
I do sometimes look at people’s photostreams and think “they’re obviously transcribing _____’s photo”, but I think there’s nothing more flattering that mimicry.
xx
Thanks for this Brooke. It’s beautiful. I’ve been one not to want to create an image because I know someone else has done it. I like to see your POV on the subject. You are such a kind person.
I believe that everything we do is influenced by the everything we see in life.
There would be no new if there was no old.
I totally agree with what your concept, being original is definitely something that always come across in any artist’s mind. And there is this fine line between copying someone’s work or being original. I think originality is about what you do with what you got, rather than straight up copying what people had done before. There is no harm to make reference of what people did before but it isn’t okay to do something exactly the same. To make it original, you need to add special measure of spice, like cooking! And it is also like what make you an artist? Being an artist is not just about how good you are with your techniques, but it is to do with what you do with it.
Like I said before, it is hard to think of something completely original and unique, because everything we do are influenced by everything we see. It’s hard to just wipe all that away and start something complete new. This is why we study history, to learn from the past and use that knowledge to do something better with it.
I was trying to explain this very concept the other day. It’s good to see it written down so eloquently. Haha :)
When I come up with an idea I often think “I’m sure it’s been done before”, but I never search the internet to find out if it has been or not. I continue with it until I’m happy.
Then the idea and concept is original to me, whether someone has done it before or not.
Afterwards, I occasionally search the internet to find that, actually, it hasn’t been done before, or that it has, but completely differently.
Thanks for the interesting post, Brooke!
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