Appropriation VS Inspiration!

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Today's post is going to be a bit more "talky" than normal. Something which has come up in the various creative communities I am involved in has been the debate between imitation(appropriation) and Inspiration. that fine line, where does it lie?, what are the issues and how do we deal with it?

Last week I mentioned that in my speech at the opening of the  Portals Exhibition I spoke about how the artist's concept of using one source of inspiration (in this case photo images) and doing different interpretations of this source , showed that appropriation was not necessary. I want to unpack that a bit more.

Throughout the decades the issue of "copying" has always been around, however I think in the digital age it has become a lot more difficult to deal with because it's no longer about having someone local copying your creativity, but now complete strangers half-way across the world can too! Creative licensing, patents, copyright etc all seem to only just stem the tide of copycat artists, writers, dancers, designers and musicians. I am constantly hearing cases of costume designers having their original designs ripped off, or their images used to sell stuff on ebay. original choreographies are taken off of youtube, taught and not given credit when performed. Writers having their words used uncredited and blatant copies of art style, technique or subject matter are rife.

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Ok so obvious cases, are...well...obvious and most of us don't blatantly copy so what does this have to do with me?
Well that fine line between appropriation and inspiration is what we have to look at next!
It has been said that there are no more original ideas, and that may be true because none of us get "special" messages from above or the great unknown that beam down totally original ideas without any influence from others. we all live in the world, are affected by our surroundings, our cultures, our own personal likes and dislikes, pop culture, the internet, books, movies etc etc. This means that often we find ourselves having the same source of inspiration. Whether its fashion trends for those of us who work in fashion related fields, maybe its world happenings for writers, colour or subject matter for artists and music that makes us feel. We are bound to cross paths with other creatives who have similar ideas- it's inevitable. But then how do we remain unique in a sea of sameness?

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I think the key is that we filter what we take in, we keep track of our inspirations via pinterest, or a file on the computer- we put them out there for our OWN records. This way we cannot kid ourselves that we are not copying, or that we are being too influenced by a particular source, because it will be right there for us to see. Policing ourselves is often the best way to make sure that we don't unintentionally appropriate someone else's creativity. Also making an effort to purposefully put your own twist on creations that follow trends, means that your work will always be different in some way. It's not easy that's for sure. I battle each day to make my creations relevant but unique.  Tutorials can help to get new techniques and to understand process, but unless you do your own thing with it, your creations will end up just like everyone else's out there.

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My biggest bugbear is when people see a local or small business designer's work and say "I could so do that", and then they go off and make their own versions of your designs/artwork.  Essentially they are taking income away from small businesses who often rely on that money to live. Sometimes you hear the excuse "but I couldn't afford to buy that anyway".I have had people at markets take pictures of my products (IN FRONT OF ME!) saying I am sure my friend can make that!  Well then I challenge those people to look at whether if they saved for it they could afford it?, or if it really is something they "have to have", maybe going to the original designer and seeing if more affordable options are available? Often designers and creatives are willing to make differing value levels of  products to fit budgets or wallets. That may mean a different fabric is used, a slightly smaller canvas, acrylic rhinestones instead of crystal, less words, less instruments or shorter sets played etc. If you are willing to ask, you may be surprised to find that something you covet is affordable after all. However the flip side to that is not expecting creatives to do work for free, (for exposure), half-price, to have a "friend and family price' etc. Creative's often have so much more overheads that cannot be included in pricing. Time, training, supplies, costumes, instrument care, equipment etc are all included in the cost of an item or service. But I digress as that is a whole other subject I could go on about!

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This is just the tip of the iceburg on this whole subject. Other questions that may be explored later include- ok so you don't want us to copy local or small businesses, but are big huge companies or super famous and rich designers ok to copy? If you are not selling or making money off of your copies is it ok to be creative and crafty for yourself?  How does the internet and scam artists affect the situation? So much to discuss.

Feel free to comment, add your voice and feelings to this debate in the comments section. would love to hear what you all have to say. Is there something more that another blog-post could cover? let me know!

much love and shimmies