Inspiration vs. Copying

Copying an artist’s style is very common in the art. According to George Shaw, it is the
sincerest form of learning and not flattery as is believed. However, there is a difference between
copying and inspiration. Copying entails trying to make a piece of art as close to the original as
possible. Copying is allowed when an artist is learning. However, it becomes stealing when an
artist gets fixated on one piece of art and replicates it exactly as it is in its original form. When an
artist does this and then styles and packages the work as their own, then it is no longer homage
but theft.
Inspiration, on the other hand, entails an unconscious burst of ideas and creativity that is
triggered by an already existing piece of art or object within one’s environment. Inspiration is
different from copying in that an artist comes up with an original piece that has ideas gotten from
another piece r work of nature. Many artists have been inspired. For example, Van Goghs
painting The Starry Night is inspired by Walt Whitman’s poetry (Martin, 2018). Additionally,
many sculptors in the twentieth century are said to have found inspiration for their work from the
primitive sculpture.
Overall, inspiration is different from copying because it does not replicate an original
work. Artists can maintain their own creativity while still paying tribute to their influencers by
transforming the inspiration to what they truly love. For example, if an artist is inspired by
another artist’s choice of color, then they can start from there using similar colors to what the
original artists have used. They can then bring the piece to reflect what they truly love and want
for their style without copying. The artist should get inspired and then let their personality define
the kind of art that they want to produce.

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References

Martin, F. D. (2018). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education.