Notions of Originality

A notion of originality (being at the origin of) can be described as an artist who inserts his own work into those of others, either by change of media or by completely recreating the original image into a more modern day vision. The material they manipulate is no longer primary by selecting cultural objects and inserting them into new contexts.

The level of originality has been lowered over time meaning evidence could be the debate about the protected work, copying sustains the economy of commerce, without it, less would be produced, manufactured and consumed, and fewer works of art would be exhibited.
Some artists choose to produce original images on a printing press. With printing processes such as intaglio printing the composition is created directly on the printing plate. The resulting print is an original image and not a reproduction of a previously executed work.

Postmodernism has rejected the modern idea of originality and the idea of new, and replaced it with a concept of references and links. On one hand, it can be argued that there is no originality. Artists recycle old ideas and put together old content in new ways.

My view on originality is that it does not mean thinking something that was never thought before, it means putting old ideas together in new ways. Every original piece of art has a unique style of its own. Mona Lisa, and the Last Supper for example, these world famous pieces of art are original, not because they were created in a unique way, but because these were new ideas implemented in traditional methods.

Below is a recreated image of the Last Supper which is a good example of how an original image can be transformed into a more modern day vision.