ART

Better Than the Real Thing?

Major museums sometimes display facsimiles of original artworks. The truth about 'exhibition copies' and artists' intentions.

Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jun 5, 2008 | Updated: 2:06 p.m. ET Jun 5, 2008

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Posted By: Tan Boon Tee @ 06/06/2008 11:00:22 PM

Comment: There is no such thing as ???creating a copy???. A copy can be only replicated; it is a redo, not a creation.

A sculpture???s value lies in its authenticity and originality, the very first piece. No copy can replace it. If a piece of painting duplicated from the original is a fake and thus worthless, by the same measure, an imitation of a sculpture ought to be considered as a fake too.

Just that, as far as sculptures are concerned, the uninitiated are often misled to believe that they are as good as the archetype. This is of course a misconception, but a misconception uncannily yet artfully perpetuated. After all, museums all over the world are full of copies of sculptures.

Actually, what prizes/prices a piece of art? By general consensus or by art collectors? (Tan Boon Tee)
Posted By: joanthepotter @ 06/06/2008 9:52:46 AM

Comment: Let us look at the real issue.....We no longer have a definition of ART? What makes a piece ART vs. "whatever"? How can we expect the public to buy, view or get involved with ART ,,,,if we as artists can not define what it is "all about". We have removed ART or time and the abilty to reproduce anything has removed ART from being held of high value by the general population and placed it in the domain of the few. At least during the 6o's we had the puplic talking and thinking about ART. Now, instead of buying a by hand made bowl in ceramic or glass the public votes with dollars for mass produced mold work purchased at Walmart.
Posted By: ben nevis @ 06/06/2008 6:39:43 AM

Comment: What is Art? I don't know, but Cai's so call CREATION isn't it. It's is JUNK, an assemblage of JUNK put together by a crew of workers and Cai as the ground foreman. I have a garage full of this kind of stuff. Thle public will accept anything as art so long as a major museum displays it. That doesn't make it art.
Posted By: ElvaLee @ 06/05/2008 8:18:33 PM

Comment: Unlike a bronze scultpure, Cai's piece at the Seattle Art Museum was not made from a mold. Thus his exhibit at the Guggenheim could not have been cast from that mold. The Guggenheim installation piece was planned an executed under Cai's direction; therefore, I believe that it is an original, similar to the original in the Seattle Art Museum, but not a duplicate of same. I once created a painting as a gift to a beloved family member. I liked the painting so much that I created another for myself (with the family member's acknowledgement and approval). Still, there are subtle differences since I painted the second piece from scratch rather than have it mechanically reproduced. In my opinion, I painted two originals, using Roman numberals "I" and "II" in the titles. Cai did not create an exact replica of his original installation, but one that is similar. I consider each of the two installations to be a separate original, created from scratch.