Take your pick from today's selection.
Is there such a thing as an original idea in art anymore?
Has everything been done before?
Have all the good ideas been taken?
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12 thoughts on “Artists’ Ideas”
I can see that’s possible. Even if it were the case that there’s no such thing as an original idea anymore, the desire to make our mark will persist.
I’ll become discouraged and think this way sometimes, but then I’ll remember that it’s not that the ART or IDEAS have all been taken but that we’re all provided with the same things for inspiration. The awesome thing is that we all see these same things in different ways and show them to the rest of the world accordingly. I personally feel like I’m the cheerleader for the overlooked. People will look at one of my photographs and say “Hey, I’ve never looked at it THAT way before!” And I’m happy.
I agree with Jamie quite a bit, and add – art is all around us everyday whether it’s been created yet or not. We may see the art with similar eyes, but view it quite differently much in the the same way two different people can recall the same event differently-
How we approach art is as different as each of as individual artists are in creating wonderful works of art.
And personally, I love seeing several artists create art from the same subject – to see how different artists attack their medium when viewing the same subject matter is marvelous to witness. It truly shows how individual we are within out environment even if that environment is the same for all…
i absolutely believe 100% that there are original ideas floating all over the place. Every artist brings to the table their own unique view and perspective to a subject. I see it all the time when searching art sites…there’s so much exciting and talented artists out there! It’s very inspiring!
Great Comments!!
5 painters can look at a still life of fruit and the result will be 5 different paintings.
1 painter may go for photo realism
1 painter may go cubistic
1 painter may go abstract
1 painter may over sensualize the fruit (some people equate fruit with sexuality….)
1 painter may do a monochromatic approach
The bowl of fruit didn’t change, but our perspective did based on the interpretation of the painters. I can start off being a realistic painter (which I did) and then start abstracting or developing my style to the next level. As I do this, I’m bringing in newness and spicing up my portfolio which can help avoid staleness. .
There are still many original ideas to be had. And, what has already been done is only a tiny fraction of all that ever will be done, or all that is worth doing – artistically or otherwise.
The question is, where will we find these ‘new ideas’? How often do we take a completely new look at the world around us and play with totally new ideas? How often do we just pick another idea from our pre-approved list of acceptable subjects and styles, without really giving it much thought?
I have actually asked these very questions in an online art group that I’m in and artist are very touchy about these types of questions. I think, for me, I see it this way:
1. It depends on what you are working from. Are you using what you are actually looking at, have taken a picture of, something you remember, etc.?
2. If you are working from one of the above then, yes, it is an original idea.
3. With the internet artists can find a wide array of images to look at, but you have to be careful not to use someone elses work. It’s really easy to “copy” and thus you are not having an original idea.
4. With the creative commons licenses artist are trying to protect their original ideas and work, therefore, others should not copy.
I agree with Michelle’s comment about this topic. I think we each see something differently, however, you cannot use someone elses, say, picture taken to draw, paint, or sketch something as that is copyright infringement. I get stuck all the time and because I question this very thing, I struggle with what to do.
As long as the world continues to evolve and change there will always be new ideas for the arts.
100 years ago artists weren’t commenting on or struggling with all of the nuances that surround the digital age. Think of how many artists today are influenced by the rise and power of computers. Think how many artists are solely digital artists. There are broad concepts that have always been there (the concept of love for example) but how people perceive that now can be very different from how it was perceived 100 years ago.
I don’t usually wonder if there are any good ideas left, but rather, what would someone from the past think of today? How would Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People look if he had lived in the age of instant news? Would he have gotten his images from something like CNN.com?
It is always a pleasure to read the responses to Alyson’s queries, one of the reasons is because I feel comradeship with many of artists’ views here.
Have you ever noticed that when you are in a romantic relationship that you can feel new things with that person that you didn’t feel on your own? I think art works like as well, whether it be music, painting, stories…experiencing an art work we can feel, see, and think differently about something that we have never dreamt before. My thanks to the many artists that have inspired in me new thoughts.
Yes, I agree with the other statements. We all have our own way of “seeing”.
This is usually at the top of my list of thoughts concerning art. And, yes, absolutely there are new ideas – all the time. It’s a good challenge to try to think up new stuff, new ways…Fun!
Though it’s one of the reasons I got away from Photography as art (for a while). I continued to make photos that shortly there after I would see others had taken image that looked just like mine. Weird. (nope, I didn’t put them online – they were just “too common” of ideas)
Painting offered an outlet for me an that was more expressive.
Art is about expression of ideas, opinions and thoughts. With the developments of processes, materials and technology the look of different medias changes too. There are new ways artists can express themselves and a new look that we call mixed media. The creative expression involves experimentations with the new technologies and though changes the way artists create.