01.01 Reproducibility in Art
What is reproducibility? Does the original matter? Is a “reproduced” reproduction just as valuable? Is a copy of a book still the book?
The Diamond Sutra is the earliest known reproduced book that has a recorded date printed on it from the year 868, almost 600 years before Guttenberg and his movable type printing press. The Diamond Sutra was hidden away in a secret cave library with an additional 40,000 other documents in 1000 to hopefully protect them from destruction during an invasion. 1 Which is more important, the woodblocks that printed the copies of the book, the knowledge that was reproduced in each copy, or the individual books, or in this case scrolls?
If this is the earliest know printed book with a date, and it was with 40,000 other documents that were also likely reproduced in some way, what does that mean for the spread of information and knowledge? Are only important texts reproduced? Who decides what is important enough to print and reproduce? A unique individually crafted scroll may only be affordable by a person with vast wealth, while multiple copies of a woodblock print may be more affordable by more people and therefore have its message spread farther. Is a single hand written scroll more important than the multiple disseminated copies of a woodblock print?
The Diamond Sutra, Wang Jie. China, 11th May, 868 AD Credit: From the British Library archive 2
We take for granted that writing is reproduced in physical books and in digital form. Generally if one reads and understands the content of a written piece, they do not feel they have gained less if there are other copies of the text in the world. Is the same true for visual imagery?
Why do museums care if their art objects were really made by famous artists or are copies? The Cleveland Museum of Art spent time and resources restoring a painting that they claim was painted by Caravaggio. The museum even displayed their “real” painting next to a “fake” painting of the same composition to show how real their painting was. 3
Black-Vega Crucifixion of St Andrew, identified as a copy after Caravaggio. Canvas, 198 x 149.5 cm. Spier Collection, London.
The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew, 1606–7. Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610). Oil on canvas; framed: 233.5 x 184 x 12 cm (91 15/16 x 72 7/16 x 4 3/4 in.); unframed: 202.5 x 152.7 cm (79 3/4 x 60 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1976.2
Installation view of Seeing Double at the CMA: Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Andrew and the “Back-Vega” Copy at the Cleveland Museum of Art . Photo by Jimmy Kuehnle.
Which is the Original?
Printmaking is another way of making multiples. Which is the original, the block or plate? The first print? The best print? Does it matter?
Andy Warhol used printmaking to examine concepts of originality and media in pop culture.
Reproduction and Appropriation Legal or Illegal?
Sometimes the choice of media of a work can be a source of originality but not always. Jeff Koons made a 3D sculpture of a postcaard of two people holding a group of puppies. The original postcard was a 3D photograph and Koon’s sculpture was a false color 3D object but the artist did not acquire right to the image. US courts decided that the artist violated the copyright of the postcard author regardless of the media used to create or transform the work into a new form.
References
Daley, Jason. Five Things to Know About the Diamond Sutra, the World’s Oldest Dated Printed Book . The Smithsonian Magazine. May 11, 2016. ↩︎
Seeing Double at the CMA: Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Andrew and the “Back-Vega” Copy (Web Archive) ↩︎