M. Pia De Girolamo

My friend, artist Tom Hlas has written 2 blog posts recently at http://tomhlas.com/blog/ that have got me thinking about the issue of originality in art. In his posts “Too Much Art” and “The Bigger Picture” he expresses the worry that his work (beautiful, by the way) may look too similar to that of another artist, and that looking at other artists’ work may be too influential on his own.  

Recalling Precious Moments w You by Tom Hlas © 2009 Acrylic on canvas 18" X 18"

We know that originality is a concern for even the most famous artists since they have left us many pronouncements on the subject.  For example, Picasso is quoted as saying  “…since of necessity my vision is quite different from that of the next man, my painting will interpret things in an entirely different manner even though it makes use of the same elements.”

Arshile Gorky deliberately imitated Picasso’s still lifes in order to understand the master’s work. "Gorky’s rejection of originality as a goal…also deeply affected [his good friend] de Kooning. "Aha, so you have ideas of your own", Gorky told de Kooning  when he first looked at his work. "Somehow," said de Kooning, "that didn’t seem so good." The critic, Harold Rosenberg notes that this exchange transformed de Kooning’s approach to painting and prompted the realization that “Even inventing a thing that had already been invented was an act of creation." (from de Kooning, An American Master, by Stevens and Swan, p. 103) 

There was a time when the ability to make art that looked like someone else’s was the paramount goal. It amazed me to find out that ancient Egyptian art remained essentially the same for about 5000 years! Imagine the poor ancient Egyptian artist who dared to draw someone’s full face; surely he was doomed to “swimming with the crocodiles”! Byzantine icon painters created highly stylized figures in a traditional manner. The apprentices in the ateliers of the great Renaissance painters had to learn to paint like their masters-so they could help finish their massive works. Even when the revolutionizing modernists came to the fore in the 20^th century, representational art was declared passé and many felt an artist had to paint abstractly in order to be taken seriously.

Sunflower by M. Pia De Girolamo © 2012 Monotype on paper 30" x 22"

Our society on the other hand imposes its own tyranny,ferociously prizing that which appears original, different and new--every few months, it seems.  Got the latest iPhone/iPhone app anyone? Again, an artist counters with a wise observation to keep things in perspective. Robert Rauschenberg reminds us that “Having to be different is the same trap as having to be the same.”  

(Robert Genn’s “The Painter’s Keys” http://quote.robertgenn.com/auth_search.php?authid=75  was the source of the quotes by Picasso and Rauschenberg).

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