authenticity.

what's authentic?
is there really such thing as authenticity?

regarding to the popular saying among art people,

everything has been done before

recalling to what was discussed in theory class when i was in college,
this particular saying evokes big reactions from the entire class

if everything has been done before,
wouldn't art be nothing but a copy?

some say yes, some say no

but as art people in art industry
there is no way we could ever agree to this statement
if art = copy, it useless, it's nothing

so what's left but dead discussion?

my first reaction was: damn, really everything?
but then my second thought: okay if it's really everything, isn't there something after everything that has better quality or even modified to certain extend that it doesn't any longer resemble the "has done before"?

for example:

if i recreate Monalisa, BUT i create it in my own manner, in a way that i make the painting by using different medium or style, per se

YES for it is still Monalisa i make, which is a copy of the actual Monalisa(which is also a copy of copy - it goes on and on if i want to discuss)
and YES for i use the painting method which has been done zillion times
and YES for any kind of medium i use, even if i claim it as NEW MEDIUM, i bet someone, somewhere has been used it before
and YES for my personal style that i am still sure that somebody in this entire universe has the same style as mine

so what makes my Monalisa different from Leonardo da Vinci's?

first thing i would like to bring up is THE IDEA
yes it could be someone's idea as well
but how about the EXECUTION?
even if zillion people in the world can have same style as i do, would the brush stroke be the same? exact same?
the pressure?
the choice of brush?
the choice of canvas?
the way i move my hands?
the choice i make which i want to paint first - the head? the hand?
the color i choose?
the paint brand
SOOOO MANY THINGS I COULD ARGUE

something that we make, even though it is a replica of something, i am sure, when we do it with hearts
the emotion derives from it would be much different
even if millions Monalisa from different people in around the world put together side by side
I AM 1000000000000000000000000000000% SURE you will get different emotion and feeling when you see them one by one

there are some things that can't be copied that easily.

okay, what a long intermezzo
well actually what i wanted to discuss in this writing is that the idea of copying itself
the reason why IKEA does not want to open its branch in Indonesia is because it is afraid of copying issue
from there, that particular sentence,
i could conclude: so Indonesia (esp. Indonesian) is so great at copying things that IKEA, that big company, is afraid of us?
makes me wanna ROFL!

but sadly, if we are so good at copying things, why can't we make something great out of it?
which i am sure, when we, Indonesia, can create such great things and sell it, imagine to the world
how much money could we get?

you know, everytime i visit certain cities in indonesia (as if i have visited many of them hahaha)
Yogyakarta, Bali, you name it
esp. when i visited Bali
you can see MANY handicrafts, rattan, BEAUTIFUL furniture made of rattan are spread along the way
and it looks damn elegant which i am sure it is expensive
but sadly..... it is to be exported
meaning that what's left to us, Indonesian, is usually ex-exported
see so many factory outlets in bandung, bogor, puncak?
the clothes are ex-exported
meaning we get rejected items

isn't it super sad?
i feel pathetic
really

when those things are exported, the price extremely goes high
so what we got left here is kind of rubbish.

i don't want to believe it but along these times we have been scraping our own rubbish
we made them
we sent them abroad
we got rejected items
we scrape them all the time

another issue is the copying issue regarding certain ideas: music, writings, any kind of thing that can be copied

simplest thing is STYLE
not only fashion style
but also style of writing
style of speaking

people say

copying is a flattering thing

meaning that when others copy what we have/do, they adore ours

really?
isn't it just a matter of laziness?

imagine if you create something amazing, beautiful
with all hard works
endless sleepless nights
lack of foods
the energy we spent
the time
all the sacrifices we made

and then it is easily copied in a cheap way

flattered?
i don't think so
first reaction i would be so pissed off, angry
and if i could i would sue the copier

too bad that not all things can be patented

but way worst that people just can't respect and appreciate what someone does/makes

not all things in the world come cheap, you know....
some are just meant to be priceless (no you can't even swipe your visa out of it!)