To answer this question, we need to understand the meaning of authenticity. Authenticity is defined as “Of undisputed origin and not a copy; genuine” (Oxford dictionaries, 2017).How is someone original if as artists we look for inspiration in the world around us that somebody else has already designed? “What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original“(Kleon, 2012), which I agree with. Personally, as a graphic designer to feel truly authentic is to find something I love and to explore and understand it, and then further develop it until it no longer resembles the “original” inspiration.

The values of modernism are to create something new whilst refusing traditional methods. Contemporary practice is creating for the now and the future, which can only be done by thinking differently.

This makes me think of a book called ‘The Medium is the Massage’, “We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future” (McLuhan, 2008). The original book was published in 1967, which makes this book pivotal at its time as it pushes for a modernist approach in contemporary practice.

In conclusion, I believe that achieving authenticity at its core definition is impossible, but with inspiration and further development new ideas are born which leads to some form of authenticity as the new idea is no longer a replica. While a concept may be original to the designer it may have already been played out somewhere else in the world therefore I agree with the quote “What is originality? Undetected plagiarism” (William Ralph Inge, 1928).

Bibliography

(2017, November 08). Retrieved from Oxford dictionaries: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/authentic

Kleon, A. (2012). Steal like an Artist. New York: Workman.

McLuhan, M. (2008). The Medium is the Massage. London: Penguin Group.