U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | A question of using other peoples' photos

A question of using other peoples' photos



           In art school a typical assignment is to copy
a masters work.  They even offer classes as such where the instructor goes
 to a museum with you and you are graded on the reproduction.........I
personally taught
my self glass engraving  attempting to copy  a noted artists  work for
learning
purposes..... I  feel there is no greater learning tool.....
Eventually once techniques are conquered you can go onto devoping a style of
your own with original works to follow........ Then people will be copying
what you do....

I think it one thing if you borrow  ideas and techniques  to teach yourself
and another if you profess it to be your own  original work with the plan on
profiting from it..... The difference is huge.
        It  has been said each generation of artists is just the previous
generations art work with a few  new twists....  Many photographers and
graphic artists I have known  keep a large  " Morgue file" or a body of
ideas in which they can
draw on  for inspiration and ideas with the hopes of creating their own in a
similar fashion with the idea of putting   their  own spin on it .
jc