quote (c) 2004 M. DiCintio.
The image above was created as I was going about my merry business on this fine Saturday afternoon, working on a few of my 'someday' projects. It's based upon a very sweet note my husband wrote to me in 2004, when I was working on a super-duper stressful Designers' Showcase...back in the days when walls were my canvas. I keep it posted on my bulletin board by my desk. Always.
As I played around with different fonts, layouts and hues, this one really struck me. I didn't think too, too much about the colors, though; I was just randomly dropping them in from one of my saved swatch palettes. "Hmmmm, I kinda like it," I thought, "it's got a little somethin' I can work with."
I walked away from my computer to make a grocery list. I cont'd to toss the image around in my head...thinking how to rework or change it or make it less graphic. Suddenly, I had this vague feeling of familiarity as I continued to mentally turn it over again and again. Bam! It hit me! Out of nowhere, I could see the Martha Stewart tv show logo in my mind's eye. I wasn't sure of the colors or exact look of the logo, so I googled the show to check it.
Whadiya know - it's not exactly the same, but, undeniably, it has some details in common. Funny thing is I've never watched a Martha Stewart show in my life!!! I've seen clips, but how the hell did this image become seared in my brain to the extent that I was able to activate it and regurgitate it, unwittingly. I remember walking through NYC last January and seeing a vertical banner for the show (I think), and, a few years ago, I remember seeing the Gosselin family in photos standing in front of the show entrance. Those are the only times I can pinpoint seeing this logo at all...and I can't even be certain of them. I might have just filled these in from some other goofy memories.
The psychologist downstairs (my husband) said there's no specific theory geared toward this type of unintentional recall, but he spoke about cells and lobes and nodes and hierarchies in our brains and how all the images and information to which we are exposed fits into these complex memory systems, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know, the whole filing cabinet idea. It's all in there somewhere, and it's impossible to say when these bits of data will reveal themselves, if ever. Just think about the tiny, tiny likelihood of this occurrence given the infinitesimal combinations of circumstances required to come together in order to trigger an unconciously filed morsel of info...it's beyond astounding that it ever, ever happens. Or maybe that we ever *know* it happens! But as I've illustrated above, it definitely does.
This happenstance likeness to Martha's logo was a perfect case and point for something I've long believed about copied artwork, which is that there are variations of copying. See if you agree.... There's willful and unlawful imitation - copying at its worst - and is unacceptable on every level! Then there are similarities borne out of trends, styles or inspiration, where artwork still maintains originality and, while likenesses may be present, they're subtle and acceptable. And then there's unintentional coincidence - where the artist doesn't know what they don't know - and they've created something that rings of reproduction, but they have no clue they've done so. A couple summers ago, decor8 had a guest post written by Erin of Design for Mankind about this: A Fine Line: Inspiration vs. Imitation? I chimed in with a similar train of thought as above and talked about creative divinity striking more than once...whoa. Yes, I do believe that, too! The comments are a great read!
Anyway, I'm done prattling! I would love to know your thoughts. Has this ever happened to you, where you create something and then realize it's been done before? Do you believe there are different types of copying? Whose the judge and jury who determines when someone has crossed the line, esp if it's a fine line? General comments about the topic are welcome, too!
