Notions of Originality and Re-contextualised Concepts in Contemporary Culture

The idea of 'originality' within art is difficult to find, or maybe it no longer exists. I believe that the majority of all work has been based upon something else that the artist has already seen. They may see something and create a piece that uses the same techniques so that the style is similar, or the form, or any aspect for that matter. Things we like or dislike will inevitably influence the way that we work. Is this wrong? Some people would say it is, but I believe that using references to improve our work is crucial to developing our own unique art styles. No one can start drawing from scratch and instantly become Da Vinci, we learn by looking and analysing other work and  by being influenced by it. Even if we believe an idea to be completely original, i think that, subconsciously we have taken it from something else, or from multiple subjects.
An example of taking influence;

 

Obama's poster used during his election campaign, bears resemblance to the iconic Che Guevara poster from 1967. Even the headline 'HOPE' can be connected. Che was the 'hope' of oppressed people in Cuba and Argentina, and i'm sure the poster was to subtly give the message that Obama was a similar saviour. The use of colors is also evidence of the similarities. I believe that this was a very clever poster because of how people associate certain qualities with Che, and the artist or team hoped they would be crossed over to Obama as well. The poster was probably targeted towards younger voters, because of how the image of Che is associated with being 'cool,' as it is used in so many different mediums, graffiti, posters, t-shirts etc
These are symbols used through visual communication to convey a message, but the message can change as time goes on. A strong symbol can stand for something at one point, and at a different point in time can stand for something else entirely. That is why referencing work from the past can give more meaning to a current piece. If it has a history there can be multiple levels of information given at the same time. For example;

 

The Esquire cover depicting Mohammed Ali shot with arrows references heavily from the The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. On it's own, it depicts Ali as a victim or a target for disdain as he was portrayed through the media at that time, or it could be taken a completely different way, suggesting that he deserves to be hated. But if you can make the connection to The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, you realize the true purpose of the cover is to show Ali as a martyr, someone taking all the blame and hate even though they do not deserve it. This is a prime example of how using ideas to recreate previous work can give more depth to what might first appear to be a simple image.