completely unrelated image...sorry, can't remember where it's from
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Copy Cat
The subject of today's post has been popping up in both my real-life and cyber conversations of late. The issue of plagiarism or copying (whatever you like to call it) seems to be a particularly pertinent topic among crafters/designers/artists. Recently Diane Gilleland wrote an interesting article of the subject (you can find it here). Diane makes the point that no idea is truly original, that we are all influenced, whether consciously or not, by images and ideas that are all around us. She gives and example where she and a good friend both produced very similar paper hearts without ever having discussed the idea with one another. I have had similar experiences myself. Her article is really worth a read if you are interested in the topic.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
yes, it's a great article, I read it last week and it is so spot on. i've had similar experiences many times, of thinking of an idea then doing a quick search on etsy only to find someone else has done it already.
it's not possible to be original anymore, because of all the idea sharing going on online. we can still strive to be original i think, i guess we have to find out own style...
Thankyou for this link. I've spent a fair amount of time this evening because of it try to chase down information on a book I read years ago called The Watershed which deals with the rise of ideas by some of the early greats who lived entirely unconnected yet ended up thinking the same. I find it sad that people have to be so preoccupied with who owns the idea. Yes, I understand the times where it financially impacts and theft is obvious but to say that no one else can be inspired by you seems against the whole idea of sharing on the internet. Fascinating stuff. Thanks again. Cherrie
My mind is still whirling along on this. The idea of fashion, or peer pressure, actually teaches us to be copy cats. I've loved horses and ducks since I was 11 and lived for a year on a farm. Frangipanis have been my favourite flowers since I lived in PNG when I was 7. Should I jump up and down because suddenly they came into fashion and everybody 'loved' them. If my clothes where 80's style people would think me nuts but because I follow the vintage look I am cool. Why were owls all the rage a couple of years ago? How did the person who first made something with them feel when everyone else started making owly products? Is it forgiveable if my latest clothes are the same colour as my neighbours on the train. Did I copy her, she me or were both of us led along by what we saw? I think I'd better go to bed. As I said in my previous comment I find this type of thing (divorced from the commercial aspect of course) fascinating and really quite illogical. Cherrie
PS Does my answer now become your intellectual property as it is on your blog or can I copy it for my own use? lol
Post a Comment