As a creative, I frequently say – I love to observe – nothing is original, everything is derivative, though we may not remember the source that in itself wasn't original, either. But how could the "source" of our project or initiative not be original? "Original" implies at the beginning, the very start of when the idea or product origin(!)ated or began. Was there even a first?
Over my lifetime I've produced a fair amount of art and design. Other people consider me a creative, and I identify as one. However, with about half of the art and design I do, I remember where I first saw a similar layout I wanted to try. A particular color palette that sang to me. A new to me style of sketching. I may or may not have taken a snapshot or saved a hard copy of the menu or flyer, or even done my own quick drawing onsite, but I know mine isn't original. Yet what I've done with that nascent concept does belong to me, so in a limited sense my finished expression is original.
An example like the one Kate gave us of intended scheduled conference plans being changed in some way is a common real-life example of original and an update. In that case, when attendees found out what was going on, they were fine no longer having that part of the original. Are there any or many of those in my everyday journey?
Yes. My breakfast plans happily change if someone offers me something different or asks if I want to go our for breakfast. Ditto lunch. Tasks I needed to do today? Upon revision, all of them don't need to be done for another two or three days. Etc. Many times we discover everything and every way that originally felt so urgent isn't as set in stone as we originally thought.
My header photo is books in what was supposed to be the dining room in the parsonage I lived in for a while in City of History: Someone else took the original that wasn't well focused, and the colors weren't too great. This is one of a couple dozen versions I've made; what you see combines an original picture and some creative photoshopping. The shelves were at least a little lean-to, and the room had no other furniture. All in all, this is one of my all-time favorite edits.
PS There's some of my original art on the two top right hand shelves.
When I thought that I could paint,
ReplyDeleteI up and cried, Hooray!
The Artistic World would faint
when they saw the new Monet!
But ol' Claude did have an eye
that I did not possess,
and though I gave it quite a try,
the results were, well, a mess.
So I gave the paints away,
the cute French easel, too,
and then went on upon my way
to seek for something new,
because to always look behind
is gonna make you lose your mind.
I really enjoyed your post. It gave me some good food for thought.
ReplyDeleteLiked "what I've done with that nascent concept does belong to me, so in a limited sense my finished expression is original."
just because you borrow an idea, or get inspiration from something, doesn't mean that how you do isn't original. Some might not think so, they might think, ah,... this style is a dime a dozen. But not to the person who created it. If it's the first time that an individual is creating it... then it's an original creation (at least in my book). :) FMF15
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