Originality

 Literature and music are not “hung up” on the notion of originality. Books make take different forms of design and production. Music is accessible in performance and recordings. But visual art has not found an acceptable means of reproducing an image without the image being in someway compromised. NFTs are one of a kind. Prints can exist in limited multiples. The public can enjoy a work of art on mugs, calendars and T-shirts, with the artist getting little or no compensation. Designers generally have no concern for the single original.

What happens if fine art gives up the idea of the one-of-a-kind original? (Often the notion of original most benefits the purchaser who sees the value of the work increase.) What if we considered the experience of the work of art as a commodity, like attending a ticketed concert?

What if a percentage of the resale value of a piece of art went to the artist? What if we considered what of the original might be lost in the production and sale of high quality reproductions? (Would this turn us into Thomas Kinkades?)

Across the board, artists are producing high quality work, work of substance, beauty and meaning. How can we better acknowledge and compensate artists around this idea of originality.