Notions of originality

Throughout time; original images have been remade, redesigned and taken on a different mediums. They have also had their original target audience change and the original intention of the image change.  But the new images still have notions of originality, from the original images which have inspired them to create their work.

An image or piece of work made in the 1500’s would have a different intention, target audience and use different materials, to a piece of work or an image made today. But using the main theme of the image it can be redesign to fit in with the times and reach a new target audience. An excellent example of this is the image Hokusai - The great Wave of Kanagawa, which has been remade to advertise and promote beer. This gives it a new message and meaning, bringing the image back up to date. The layout of the image is identical to the original image, but this time the wave is made out of bottle openers. This is in context of the image advertising beer. This is great example of using an original image for inspiration and making it more relevant for the times.

Théodore Géricault - The Raft of the Medusa was painted between 1818 and 1819. The painting has been remade countless times with different meanings, target audience and mediums. But all the new versions still have notions of the original image.  For example it was remade with the intention of advertising a high end women’s fashion label. The target audience for this advert is mainly women who would buy the clothes. There are signs in the advert that the women are lost at sea, this can be seen by their facial expressions and the way in which they are positioned. But it doesn’t really matter because they are glamorously dressed and advertising the fashion range. I think that this is a great example of using an original image for inspiration for something new. The context, audience and intention have completely changed compared to the original but it still has the same layout and elements of the original.

Recontextualised ideas and concepts in contemporary culture

An original image made a long time ago can still have relevance today in a more contemporary cultural. If the idea is recontextualised it can fit in with a more modern era, cater to a different target audience and also by using different mediums. But the new image/idea can still pay homage to the original.

A good example of this is the how the theme of fairies can be used for an image and be recontextualised for a TV ident.  The original fairies were first seen in the image Cottingley Fairies by the artist Elsie Wright, with a young girl in a woodland scene looking dreamily into the distance.  This idea of fairies was recently used in a TV ident for the BBC One in Ireland. The context of the landscape is a dreamy and an enchanting forest. The BBC is saying it wants to take you somewhere new, different and unexplored with their programmes/channel. The target audience for the TV ident is everyone. BBC one caters to all genders, races and ages; and everyone can relate to being young and imagining an enchanting landscape with fairies.