It’s no secret that the world of art has always been surrounded by controversy when it comes to matters of copying, replicating or recreating artwork by renowned masters. But, is it really wrong to replicate, recreate or copy art to learn? This is the question that many people are frequently asking, and it’s one that is not so easily answered.
There are so many mixed opinions circulating regarding this issue. On the one hand, you have renowned artists and critics asserting that ‘replicating’ or ‘copying’ art sends the wrong message and will eventually have a detrimental effect on the industry.
On the other hand, there are those that wholeheartedly believe that copying art is an important part of the learning process and is, by no means, a moral wrong. To answer this Age-old debate, one must delve into the reality of situations and different perspectives of art replication, recreating and copying.
What Does Copying Art Actually Involve?
The concept of copying art is broad and encompasses many different practices, from using existing artwork as reference for creating a new artwork to drawing the same artwork with some slight alterations. Copying has been practiced by visual artists for centuries and is still seen today in a number of distinct forms.
In regards to the more ‘traditional’ definitions of copying art, it’s generally accepted to include the practice of an artist reproducing a sketch or painting of another artists’ work by mimicking the same shape, color, size, and sometimes even the medium. This is a practice known as ‘tracing’, which is still used today, mostly to recreate artwork onto canvas, as well as transferring drawings onto paper. Creating something whilst referencing another artist’s work is an age-old exercise and can be known as ‘appropriation’.
This often involves referencing or drawing inspiration from a particular masterpiece, in the form of shapes, colors, or general principles. To clarify, appropriation sees artists using cinematic or visual elements from other artworks— various techniques are used to create something new and original.
Learning from Copying
As previously stated, copying is an age-old practice that’s used to somehow benefit the person copying. The practice is not meant to be an act of plagiarizing, rather, often a learning experience. In this sense, it’s important to note that copying art can serve as an educational experience, which can help new and aspiring artists to establish a practical understanding of the fundamentals of artistry and composition.
The act of re-creating the same artwork can teach double-learners both how to use the right medium and materials, and how to capture the main emotion or tone of the original artwork. By doing this in such a way, they are also able to learn to make adjustments and add slight personal touches to their work, which can be well beneficial when they eventually move onto creating original artwork.
Furthermore, copying art can help aspiring artists derive understanding from aspects of art that are commonly difficult to break down and learn independently. This often involves learning skills such as working with light and shadow, analytical thinking, and various other visual elements that can’t be easily explained using words.
Therefore, by copying artworks, aspiring artists can utilize this opportunity to become familiar with difficult aspects of art that may otherwise take a significant time to comprehend.
The Opposing Perspective
Despite its many claimed benefits, the practice of recreating or copying artwork is still met with resistance, in the sense that it appears to be a tradition that encourages plagiarism and hinders creativity. There is already quite a noticeable amount of artwork that is seen to contain slight variations of an original masterpiece, leading to an argument that copying is hindering fresh, original artwork from being created.
Furthermore, as some replicas are often created as near exact copies of artwork, it can, in some cases, be difficult to identify which artist the work is actually sourced from. This often leads to a situation where the original artist may not receive the recognition they deserve for developing a piece of artwork, and instead it’s those who have copied and changed the piece slightly who are favored. As a result of this, the original artist is often stripped of the rightful recognition for their works, leading to them losing out on profits.
Conclusion
When considering the topic of replicating, copying or recreating art to learn, it’s clear to see that it’s a concept that is wrapped in a multitude of debate. On one hand, there appear to be some benefits to this act, allowing aspiring artists to learn about difficult concepts that aren’t easy to grasp.
On the other hand, there are those that firmly disagree with it, as it stops original artworks from being made and can take credit away from the original artist. Overall, it’s a controversial topic that is subject to interpretation. As such, it’s ultimately down to aspiring artists to decide whether they believe the act of copying art is the right path for them to take.