Somewhere I read that a true artist never borrows, he steals outright. I get that. It helps me, because it validates what I’ve always done in my creative efforts: when something speaks to me, moves me aesthetically, I incorporate it into my creative expression. Basically, I steal cool ideas.
it's the real thing
Look, everybody does it. There’s only a crime committed if you claim to be “inspired by” another person’s work. Have you ever watched Bugs Bunny? All the (insanely fantastic) music in those cartoons has sections that are wholly lifted from classical composers, and I don’t read their names in the credits. One of the most popular recordings of the last decade is the completely illegal Gray Album.
What happens is that the finished product becomes the next generation of the original, just as I am my father’s son. It’s natural. It’s what artists do, observe the world around them, then express it. So what if they observed a cool snare sound from an old Motown record. To quote Joy Behar, so what, who cares? It becomes a support mechanism for a new piece of work, like a beam from a old barn used inside a living room.
Oh, everybody cares. There’s a legal field devoted to stopping cut and paste/mashup/remixes wherever they occur. There’s a “live by the sword..” aspect as well. The Beastie Boys, who clearly revel in using samples from previous works, actually got a huge boost from a settlement in their favor from Nike when the shoe manufacturer used their music without permission. They’ve since defeated claims against their own music, actually setting precedent in Federal Court.
My first music video is my attempt to do what I saw on the set of Enemy of the State, creating a chase sequence wherein shadowy forces pursue our heroes while the attempt to elude on bike, through a restaurant back door, onto a roof…sound familiar? Let’s watch:
I feel like it honors Tony Scott that I’d want to do this. Hey, Tony has called me on my cell phone all right? Next time he does, I’ll be sure to mention how I honored him with my video.
Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough film is a rip-off, but in his hands it’s completely original. In his case, John Woo went on to steal a scene from Tarantino’s film as an “homage” back. Kinda like when Prince played the Foo Fighter’s song at the Super Bowl after the Foos had released a cover of Darling Nikki in europe. Don’t believe me? Watch how Prince says “count it” at the end: (also a helpful clinic on how to work a telecaster)
It’s like an old-school dance off. That’s the way to settle it, let the art battle it out. Information wants to be free. The only crime is to deny it.
Live out loud and tell the truth! Art is sharing and imitation is flattery so why not just keep score like you say? Great post.
[...] of Rothko but I believe ‘borrowing’ is the way of modern art as does my fellow blogger, Eric. Hall’s portraits, however, are something completely on their own. They reach into my soul. [...]