Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
Matthew Roberts
BA Hons Graphic Design
matthew.kupon@gmail.com
published 08/2009
1
Remix, Cut-up, Re-work: When does the remix add value?
Contents
03 – Introduction
30 – Conclusion
32 - Bibliography
2
Introduction
‘Remix’ is one of the terms used to describe how ideas or intellectual property are
and may be referred to (in the vernacular language) simply as ‘retro’ or ‘vintage’.
Existing works are referred to via, for example, metaphor, analogy, irony, parody or
pastiche, thus creating new works. The idea of the remix is used in a multitude of
contexts and media: Matt Mason (2008, p.70) describes the remix as “one of the most
The process of using existing things or ideas to create new ones certainly isn’t new; it
There are many ideas we consider original innovations which are actually
versions of someone else’s idea. The Old Testament (Ecclesiastes) said it best:
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be: And that which is done is that
which shall be done: And there is no new thing under the sun.” And hey, even the
Old Testament is no exception. Many scholars believe its stories (and for that
matter, the similar stories that appear in the Torah and the Qur’an as well) are
rooted in pagan myths of ancient Mesopotamian cultures, based in a land we now
call Iraq. (Mason (2008 p. 70))
Christianity has continued the remix, commandeering pagan festivals such as Yule
and the Spring Equinox, which we now celebrate as Christmas and Easter. According
to Nichols (1988), Yule (the winter solstice) was when pagans rejoiced the return of
the sun god, and it was celebrated with feasting, drinking, carol singing, mistletoe,
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Yule logs and Yule trees. The early Christians used to celebrate the birth of Christ on
the 25th of the month, but had no fixed month for this. Nichols (1988) claims that
Christ’s birthday was originally celebrated in spring (Jesus would have been unlikely
to have been born in December, as shepherds would have only ‘watched their flocks
by night’ during the spring lambing season). However, the decision to fix Christmas
in December at around the same time as the old festival of Yule made for a fairly
seamless cultural shift; the new religion could merge with the old. Easter is similarly
based on the spring equinox, celebrated by the Babylonians some 2500 years BC.
This festival represents the rebirth of life; the end of a ‘dead’ season in the north and
the start of the summer crops in the south. The name Easter is derived from the name
of the Germanic goddess Eostre or Eastre, who was the goddess of Spring and
fertility; with the coming of Christianity it again made sense to merge the resurrection
of Christ with an existing pagan festival (the early Anglo-Saxons were particularly
good at such remixes!) The old ideas were not lost, however: two of Eostre’s most
important symbols were the hare and the egg, and these symbols remain today, when
children celebrate with chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs. (Cline, 2009; Elliot 2009).
The remix exists for this reason: because many existing ideas have a value, although
the expression of the idea may need refreshing or updating for a new audience. The
ideas that get reused most often are the best ideas. This is why one still hears Bach on
stage and in Hollywood (e.g. “10 Things I Hate About You”, “O”, Baz Luhrmann’s
‘Romeo & Juliet’), and why we have classics in every area of the arts and all areas of
design. In many cases a remix serves as a reinvention, and may be necessary to realise
a past missed opportunity, or to adapt an idea for a different market. There are
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different notions of value, some of which are short-term or purely financial, but it is
often only time that ultimately shows the creative value of works or ideas.
argue that this is not the case. Culture has always reacted to what happened in
previous generations, whilst also building on those same ideas to make new ideas. Art
and creativity are a reflection of culture, and art grows out if its times. It is however
useful to examine postmodernism, as the remix in all its guises appears to have
deconstruction of meaning, the ‘cultural logic of late capitalism’, and what Poyner
(2003) describes as the lack of distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, the idea
that these become ‘equal possibilities on a level field’ (p. 11). The Chambers English
...a style (in any of the arts) following upon, and showing movement away from
or reaction against, a style, theory, etc termed ‘modernist’.
5
Modernism is the umbrella name for a surprising array of aesthetic movements
in music, and other ideas such as abstraction, functionalism, atonality and free verse
emerged in Europe in the 1880s, flourished before and after the First World War
and became institutionalised in the academies and art galleries of Post-Second
World War Europe and America, (1990 p. 6, cited in Barnhard 2005 p. 112)
The Modernist ‘faith in the tradition of the new’ (Weston 1996 p.7) was partly a
reaction to what had gone before, but mostly a reflection of society (so the early
Modernists employed the remix but little). The 19th Century had seen massive
technological progress and mass industrialization, and the start of the 20th Century
saw the Russian Revolution and the cataclysmic Great War. After the First World
War people were angry, and wanted change and progress in all areas of life. Many of
architecture moved to the United States after the Second World War, and went on to
shape the appearance of the 20th Century. Post-modern theorists tend to disregard
these values and other older values, but even this is not new. In a newspaper interview
History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to
live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history
we made today. (Chicago Tribune, 1916)
6
The methodology of the remix involves taking a piece or pieces of work and
others, rearranging and adding new parts, so that the new piece becomes more
technique (Broughton and Brewster, 1999; Schaal, 2006; Mason, 2008 p.82). This
process of appropriation can be seen in music, design, literature, art, film, fashion,
could be suggested that we live in a cut and paste society. The idea behind the remix
is evident all over the Internet, with the most popular applications built around user-
driven content (e.g. YouTube and Facebook). The programming code for video games
is intentionally left unlocked so that fans can tweak and improve it (Mason 2008 p.
169). The combination of digital television recorders (Sky+) and internet-based ‘on
demand’ services such as BBC’s iPlayer have reinvented broadcasting, and the ‘end-
user’ now creates their own remix experience; the way we use information, media and
ideas today is very different. It has become more personalised, but less socially
cohesive.
While the methodology of the remix is pervasive, the term was initially used and
primarily understood to apply to music, and particularly to dance music, such as Hip
Hop, Disco, and developments of these. I propose here to discuss some aspects of
remix or cut and paste in the ‘postmodern era’ (1960’s to the present), firstly in music,
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The remix: music
Appropriation and adaptation in music pre-dates modern remixing. Indeed, one may
argue it has always existed. Classical composers were influenced by the folk music of
their own countries, and have gone on to influence others. Mozart built on the work of
Haydn and Bach. The triumvirate of Mozart, Haydn and the early Beethoven are often
regarded as the core of the “Classical era”, where forms including the symphony,
sonata and concerto that we know today were consolidated and perfected (Rosen,
1998; M Files Online, 2009a). These three deeply influenced later composers.
Earlier composers still influence popular music today. One example is Johann
Pachelbel's “Canon in D Major”, composed in 1680. The following are all based on
this one piece: “Let It be” by The Beatles (1970), "All Together Now" by The Farm
(1991); "Basket Case" by Green Day (1994); "Hook" by Blues Traveler (1994);
addition, "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis (1996) borrows the chorus chord
progression from the same Canon, while "C U When U Get There" by Coolio (1997)
contains sections of it. Finally, the piece is repeatedly used in either its original form,
(Hickman, 2009; Origen Music, 2009). Taking another example, "If I Had You"
example comes from Procol Harum, a progressive rock band, whose 1967 hit “A
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Whiter Shade of Pale” sold 6,000,000 units. In a 2004 poll, the British performing
record of the past 70 years (PPL Online 2009), as did BBC Radio 2 (Swash 2009).
elements; progressive rock styling and unusual ambiguous lyrics are superbly fused
with a dominant organ theme based on JS Bach’s Cantata No. 140 (Greenberg 1997).
Of course, not all great musical reworkings are based on “classical” music. The year
following Procol Harum’s hit saw another superb example of musical “cut and paste”,
when Jimi Hendrix recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the
perfecting his own version of this composition, constantly altering guitar parts, and
playing most of the instruments (Kramer 1994). The Daily Telegraph (2004), The
Independent (Bray 2008) and the British guitar magazine Total Guitar named it top of
their lists of ‘greatest cover versions of all time’. It is commonly revered as the
outgunned the original” (2004), whilst Bray describes the version as having “turned
the easy listening ballad into a technically brilliant rock classic with that legendary
...overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song
and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn't think of
finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took
license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.
(Dolen, 1995)
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Hendrix recorded many cover versions during his short career, but these versions
were anything but plagiaristic; he would present the song in an entirely new way.
Hendrix was said to be influenced by Blues artists such as B.B. King (Egan, 2002),
Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Elmore James (Shadwick, 2002 p.39), and he spent
several years mastering his guitar style prior to reaching success. This involved a
effect-pedals (Shadwick, 2002 p.92). He played and recorded with Little Richard’s
band, and in 1966 was quoted as saying, "I want to do with my guitar what Little
Richard does with his voice" (White 2003 p.125). Hendrix achieved this and more,
and it could be argued that Hendrix’s approach to music has parallels with great
artists in other media, such as Pablo Picasso; both began disciplined study from the
masters from a young age. This solid grounding (partly based on copying) enabled
Matt Mason’s book ‘The Pirate’s Dilemma’ is replete with examples of inspirational
takes on the remix, but in reality the remix can be a random affair. Remixes can be
plagiaristic and exploitive, produced in the eternal quest for ‘easy money’. Such
examples have little creative value, and are unlikely to have any lasting appeal. A
great remix is more than the sum of its parts; there is an element of transformation, of
alchemy. The remix artist needs something good to build on (explaining why e.g.
Pachelbel and Bach, and indeed Bob Dylan, have been mined so often for source
material), but he or she must also use skill and creativity to produce something new.
There are many questionable examples of the remix. Earlier examples will not have
survived, but more recent examples exist. One might suggest that these are either the
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product of laziness or are simply motivated by money. Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs’
reworking of the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” became the rap ballad “I’ll Be
Missing You”, a lament to his recently murdered best friend the Notorious B.I.G. It
emotive theme of the song. Blender ranks “I’ll be Missing You” at number 25 on its
list of the “50 Worst Songs Ever” (2009). I concur, finding no creative merit or
transformative value in the piece, but it is worth noting that the same song appears at
36th place on the Guardian’s “Favourite 100 Songs” list (2002). In popular music the
least creative, most obvious remixes often make the most profit, whilst permission is
only granted to license a work for re-use if the new record is likely to generate a lot of
money. This is notion is illustrated by Madonna, who became only the second artist in
history to negotiate sample usage from Abba's songwriters, Benny Andersson and
Bjorn Ulvaeus (Hastings 2005). The ensuing 2005 single “Hung Up” topped the pop
(Glenday (2007)).
The democratisation of the remix can arguably be attributed to the innovations and
developments of Kingston’s Reggae sound systems of the 1960’s and the block-
parties and nightclubs of the New York Boroughs in the 1970’s (Broughton and
Brewster (1999)). DJs became artists and producers, moving the creative process
away solely from musicians. These DJs invented many tactile techniques, which then
led to the development of the digital tools that are readily available today. During this
period, DJs instigated the design and build of bespoke, custom-built audio equipment,
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such as turntables and mixing consoles, or where necessary adapted and reinvented
existing equipment (Broughton and Brewster 1999). As the DJs became producers,
remixing became a professional occupation; the period between the late 1980’s and
the turn of the 21st Century were both lucrative and prolific.
The contemporary idea of the remix differs from these previous case studies. Today,
anyone who owns a computer can make a remix (Mason 2008). This is not to say that
such remixes are without artistic merit. Of the numerous examples, the most succinct
is Kutiman, who creates new pieces of music using anonymous videos found on
YouTube; the craft of the remix is visually underscored through the interplay between
strangers, spliced together on the screen (2009). One might say this is a remix of a
remix. But, generally speaking, remixing in popular music has been transformed into
a hobbyist’s activity, and as such has lost its direct monetary value (Mason 2008).
The Oxford based rock band Radiohead recognized this trend, setting a competition to
remix their ‘Nude’ single. The potential remixer is required to purchase all the
necessary parts (known as stems) from iTunes. Radiohead’s site allows the completed
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The remix in visual communication.
The visual arts also have a historic tradition of appropriation. Picasso and Georges
2009). This form of appropriation would later be called synthetic cubism. Marcel
Duchamp began his Readymades soon after, which were based around found objects,
most famously his parody of the Mona Lisa, “L.H.O.O.Q.”, replete with moustache
and goatee (Ill. 1), and “Fountain” (Ill. 2) which is described as ‘a men's urinal
signed, titled, and presented on a pedestal’ (ibid). Surrealist artists would later use real
objects in their work, e.g. Salvador Dali’s 1936 work Lobster Telephone. Andy
Warhol is most famous for mass-producing screen prints of Campbell’s soup cans and
Marilyn Monroe.
13
Illustration 1: Marcel Duchamp - L.H.O.O.Q
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The visual arts are a huge field. It is important at this point to specify that, for the
purposes of this dissertation, our focus will examine visual communications in the
postmodern era, mainly for the music industry and advertising (late 1960’s to the
1. What is visual communication, and how does it differ from fine art?
3. Discussion of how the notion of the remix has informed my own work and
ideas in music and design.
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What is visual communication?
It may be necessary to point out some differences between graphic design and fine art.
commercial art. In the wider application of graphic design, many other disciplines can
be included, such as illustration and motion graphics, and can be referred to as visual
communication. Malcolm Barnhard suggests the difference between art and graphic
design “depends upon the notion of the reproducibility of image and text”. (2005
p.175). Hollis states that: “unlike the artist, the designer plans for multiple
production” (2001, p. 8). Walter Benjamin argues that “some works of art possess
‘aura’, and that others, mechanically reproduced works (such as graphic design) do
not”. (cited by Barnhard 2005, p.175). To clarify, Barnhard describes Aura as “the
sense of uniqueness and authenticity that is felt before a work of art” (ibid). There are
clearly ambiguities between what is art and what is design, but in general terms
are produced for a client, and intended for mass distribution. It is intended for
commercial use. I still consider graphic design to be commercial art, but I now
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The use and context of visual communication.
Graphic design is used in a large variety of ways, but is often produced for a specific
client or for a defined purpose. Examples of such uses are packaging, advertising,
Designers must juggle with typography, image, symbols, and codes to communicate,
or to reach their objective. So exactly what is the designer role? Milton Glaser states
that the key point is to ‘make people pay attention... understand what your audience
knows’ (quoted in McAlhone & Stuart 1996 p.196). It is clear that without good
ideas, design can lack any meaning, and thus be ineffective. If designers are to make
people pay attention, they need to be creative and fresh. In an attempt to analyse the
creative process, I have endeavoured to explore the question of whether there is such
and designers play with images to create new ideas. James Webb Young states that
‘An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements’ (1960
p.25), whilst Ivan Chermayeff also describes a process of combining simple, obvious
and straightforward images and connecting them to another idea to create a new idea
(McAlhone & Stuart, 1996 p.182). Chwast (ibid p.184) and Glaser (ibid p.196) both
play around with clichés and existing images as a starting point, whilst Alan Fletcher
states that ‘What distinguishes designer sheep from designer goats is the ability to
stroke a cliché until it purrs like a metaphor’ (Fletcher & Myerson 1996 p.68). This
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Symbols and signs are a visual language, whose theories are expanded upon in the
study of semiotics (Chandler, 2002; Hall, 2007). Designers are visual magpies:
appropriation is part of their DNA (McAlhone & Stuart, 1996), but it seems clear that
design for a variety of reasons, and can pay considerable sums of money for bespoke
imagery and identity, therefore there are good (and legal) reasons to avoid plagiarism.
Despite these constraints, there are many instances of the remix in design, and we will
shortly consider their context in some case studies and attempt to evaluate whether
element in the way they describe literature itself. Burrow (2008) describes how we
might
The notion that by writing we incur debts appears to be routine today: metaphors of
debt are the norm in the prefaces or acknowledgments pages in almost all book
18
plagiarism (which literally means kidnapping). Burrow (2008) continues to explain
Burgoyne (2009) states “almost every photograph Guy Bourdin ever took has
resurfaced at some point over the past 20 years in another photographer’s shot”,
Some designers assume the same level of sophistication in the consumers of visual
communications and advertising. Peter Saville, who was in-house designer for
Factory Records, essentially made his most significant contributions to graphic design
through the wholesale appropriation and repackaging of modernist art and design.
Saville’s packaging designs for New Order’s LP Movement (Ill. 5) and single
Procession (Ill. 3) each use designs by the Futurist designer Forunato Deporo (Ill. 4;
Ill. 6). Saville explains: “To me, it was better to quote Futurism verbatim, for
19
example, then to parody it ineptly – it was a more honest, more intellectual and in a
way more artistic approach. It was so literal and so obvious that it never crossed my
mind that people would think that I invented this work.’ (from Poyner 2003 p.78).
I would argue that Saville’s explanation is only acceptable if you regard this issue
profession would be aware of such a debt, as designers are generally not producing
the work for other designers. The purpose of the design may be a press advert, an
identity, or in Saville’s case packaging for popular music. Saville’s assumption that
his appropriations are “obvious” is only true for artists and designers. The consumer
Nevertheless, the design, image and packaging of Saville’s output for Factory
Records’ early phase did contribute to the label’s identity and mystique. Poyner
(2003) suggests that the power of these designs also came from the precise choice of
works used, and the way these selections functioned as ideas in relation to the music
and bands they expressed. If true, this might be argued to authenticate the
appropriation, but it is notable that later issues of these works on compact disc
credited the original artists work, similar to the way a piece of literature might
the post-punk or new-wave era coincides with the popularity of the appropriation art
of Sherrie Levine and Richard Prince, and also has parallels in postmodern
architecture.
1
We may note here that “Saville also plundered works from Giorgio de Cherico and Henri Fantin-Latour (Poyner (2003))
20
Again writing in defence, Poyner (2003 p.36), describes Saville as
...an instinctive rather than theoretical postmodernist who understood the new
cultural mood from his first sight, in 1978, of Philip Johnson’s proposals for the
AT&T building, a postmodern New York skyscraper with a broken classical
pediment for a crown. ‘Within 12 months, neo-classicism and the influence of
architectural postmodernism were everywhere’ Saville recalls. “People in New
York were buying columns to put into their apartments. My contribution was the
graphic design equivalent. It was always an emotive feeling, and after a year or so
I began to trust in my senses.”2
Taking Poyner’s arguments into consideration, I would still argue that Saville is guilty
of plagiarism, given that the end-users of the design are popular music consumers.
evidence of transformation or any real allusion to Deporo. This is what a remix is not,
2
Saville’s quote originally appeared in Eye, Volume 5 Number 17, summer 1995, p. 14
21
Illustration 3: New Order “procession”
by Peter Saville (1981)
22
Illustration 5: New Order “Movement”
designed by Peter Saville
23
Alan Fletcher, a highly respected British designer, built an extensive portfolio during
creativity (1963, 1996, 2001, 2006), and on occasion reworked existing ideas or
images, opining that ‘it is acceptable to steal, providing you don’t pass the idea off as
your own – that’s plagiarism’ (Fletcher and Myerson 1996 p.200). Fletcher borrowed
A.M. Cassandre’s character drawing from his famous series of 1930’s Dubonnet
advertisements (Ill. 7), recmodelling the character for the Design and Art Directors
Association’s (D&AD) 21st anniversary dinner (Ill. 8). In this case, permission was
...went ahead and redressed him in a blue suit and bowler hat, so he was
appropriately turned out for the occasion, and inserted the line ‘Homage to
Cassandre’ running down the trouser leg. (p. 200)
The context of this remix is very different from Saville’s; graphic design is not
usually fashioned and aimed at other designers, but in this example, it is. The client,
D&AD, is described by McAlhone & Stuart as “the organization that gave designers
and admen more muscle” (1996 p.52). This event is to be marketed to the design and
advertising industries, who ought to understand the allusion, yet Fletcher still makes it
clear that this is a “Homage to Cassandre”. This example is the opposite of Saville’s
cynical approach. This is a true remix, and a very good one. It is an acknowledged
homage, but Fletcher adds an extra layer of perfectly appropriate meaning: the target
audience will also identify themselves in the character, celebrating with drinks.
24
The two contrasting examples from Saville and Fletcher shown above illustrate that
25
Illustration 7: A.M. Cassandre “Dubonnet Advertisement”
c.1930’s
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How the remix affected my work
I grew up in the ‘post-punk’ era described in the texts by Broughton and Brewster
awareness of postmodernism. I simply enjoyed the music and culture for what it was,
in the innocent way one would expect of a boy under the age of ten. I have distinct
memories of some pop music from early in the 1970’s that simply didn’t excite me,
including the Bay City Rollers, Suzi Quatro and Smokie.3 The kind of music I was
excited by was largely 2-tone, which was not unusual at the time, as the brief disco
and initial Punk eras that preceded the post-punk boom had effectively killed off
much of what I considered to the be safe, bland pop of the earlier 70’s, spawning a
scene that was hugely popular4. Post-punk or New Wave included many styles, such
Trontz (2005)). Despite the seemingly disparate array of styles, New Wave was a
genre, and was arguably the first music genre, or indeed era, to revisit past genres so
thoroughly (ibid). This appropriation was often extended to the cover art, which used
vintage graphics, typography, fashion and images of the original era. These images
were utilised on record sleeves, at live performances and in the early days of the
music video, immediately preceding and including the debut years of MTV (ibid). I
clearly recall the 2-tone acts such as The Specials seeming fresher that a lot of the
earlier 70’s music, despite being heavily based on previous Ska and Bluebeat styles5.
3
This was the kind of music which was shown on popular children’s TV programmes of the late 1970’s such as BBC 1’s
“Cheggers Plays Pop”
4 In my primary school, everyone could be either a ‘Mod’ or a ‘Rocker’.
5
A huge part of the appeal was the image, posters, and fashion; simple fresh black and white design i.e. “two tone”.
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This effectively meant that I was unwittingly exposed to remix culture almost as soon
as I became interested in music and design. This had, and still has a huge impact on
The later music culture genres, such as Hip-hop and Electro continued to adapt and
remix disparate musical styles, which often interested me; to me, remix culture was
culture, by and large. In my case, the transformation and reworking of older musical
styles broadened and informed my taste, often leading me to look at the original
material. This approach to creativity had a huge bearing on my music career, which
I spent fifteen years making, producing, writing and remixing music before my return
to education. I had been immersed in music (and incidentally, in related design), and
began DJing at the age of sixteen, first as an amateur, then as a professional. I had an
in-depth knowledge of house and techno music, which led to opportunities to create
and produce music. I did this with no training or technical knowledge to begin with.
All I brought to my initial productions sessions were a bag of records. I simply dived
into it, taking a rebellious ‘do-it-yourself’ approach, and learned on the job. I largely
taught myself from reworking, referencing, copying, combining and studying other
music. I continued to learn from this basis, producing around 30 original productions,
and over 100 remixes by the time I stopped making music in 2007. On reflection, I
can see how I learned the majority of my skills during the first decade, and was later
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would always be aware (and respectful) of borrowed elements that would feed into a
other works: by studying existing material I was able to learn the required skills, and I
believe that was the best approach for what I wanted to do at the time. In my
experience, the remix can be a truly creative process, but one must put one’s own
energy, skill and originality into producing it. This is as true for art and design as it is
for music. There may be few completely new ideas under the sun, but there is always
room for fresh perspectives, executed and presented with skill and flair.
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Conclusion
The notion of remixing has always existed. There is evidence that many of the
sacrosanct Christian holidays we celebrate are adapted from previous pagan eras.
Original ideas, compositions or works can evolve and have value for later cultures,
both in themselves, and as a ‘springboard’ for new ideas and creations. This is
certainly true in literature, music and design, as we have discussed, but it is also true
in every field of human endeavour and interest. In science, for example, Einstein
repudiated some of the theories of Newton, but he also built on them. Modern
medicine continues to evolve, but the knowledge that was handed down by Pasteur,
for example, is still as relevant, and has been built on and developed. We all stand on
the shoulders of giants, and some of us may become giants ourselves, but we need
somewhere to start from. Nothing comes of nothing. Remixing in the broad sense is
The notion of value may be measured in various ways e.g. creative, humanitarian or
financial worth. One can argue that some ideas or works have high creative value
because they are often reused, built upon, or reinvented. However, we must remember
that opinions are subjective; in a bid to find clear examples of remixes that have little
creative value, for example “I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy, the author found
that the song was loved and loathed in equal measure (Guardian, 2002; Blender,
2009). Perhaps the only true test will be whether the song is remembered at all in 50
years time. I suspect not, but that the original it was built on might be remembered.
The mixing and transformation of ideas or works may add value to the original work,
or make its message accessible to a new audience. If the original has value, it will not
30
suffer from either good or bad remixes (there have been countless versions and
Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters, but the originals are still valued)6. There is evidence that
a new version of a work can be transformed into something greater, as in the case of
Hendrix’s version of “All Along The Watchtower”. To do this takes great skill.
While the remix can innovate and transform, there are examples where plagiarism
seems evident, usually prompted by purely financial motives. There is some evidence
understood, but is questioned in others. I have argued that context is important here,
but perhaps it should always be made clear in any discipline when borrowing has
In my own experience, I have often found repurposed ideas in music and art to be the
most exciting. I have also found that, to a greater or lesser extent, the remix has an
essential role in the creative process. The examples given in this essay could arguably
indicate that the remix functions in a comparable way in every creative discipline.
Sometimes we may make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; the trick is to avoid making
a pig’s ear of one’s creation, whether it or not it is a remix. Quality counts in a remix,
as it does in any creative form, and this is true whether the remix involves music, art,
31
Bibliography
Ades, D. (1986)
Photomontage (second edition). London, Thames and Hudson.
Barnhard, M. (2005)
Graphic Design As Communication. Abingdon, Routeledge.
Benjamin, W. (1935)
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. The Art History Archive. Available
from http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/modern/The-Work-of-Art-in-the-Age-of-
Mechanical-Reproduction.html [Accessed 6th January 2009]
Blender (2009)
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