The Advent of the Literary Remix?  

Justin RuddyMarch 11, 2010 

Whether Shephard Fairey's use of an AP photo for his now infamous Obama "Hope" poster, or DJ Dangermouse's marrying of The Beatles and Jay-Z for his "Grey Album," creative appropriation of another's artistic work has become par for the course in most sectors of the art world in the 21st century. Perhaps the final frontier for remixers, rehashers, and mashupers is the world of literature. According to Randy Kennedy at the New York Times, this is in fact the case. However, the frontier may not remain unexplored for much longer as a new wave of literary artists are quite literally taking their cues from those who have gone before them, borrowing quotations and even entire sections without citing or giving credit to their sources. Plagiarism? Yes. New form of artistic expression? Perhaps. While it's not surprising that the idea should strike us as odd, the closing thoughts of Kennedy's article, provided by Harvard professor Louis Menand, suggest that we've adapted to changes like this before:

0 Comments