Inspiration Vs. Imitation

While at the Huntington Library recently I came across these two paintings in the American gallery.

{ Still Life by Luigi Lucioni }

{ Small Crushed Campbell's Soup Can (Beef Noodle) by Andy Warhol }

They got me to thinking about inspiration and its ugly step-cousin imitation.  Now, let me say right away that I am not an expert on Andy Warhol and do not claim to know where he found his inspiration – aside from popular culture, of course.  However, as I looked at Lucioni’s still life I couldn’t help but wonder if Warhol if he had seen Lucioni's work and had been inspired by the modern take on a classic still life painting; specifically, the Campbell’s soup can. Although Warhol was born two years after Lucioni painted this piece, they both lived in New York City at the same time and died one year apart.  It is very likely that Warhol could have seen this piece.

Let’s say he did.  Although I am not necessarily a fan of Warhol, I think that if he did see this piece and was inspired by it, he did a great job of keeping imitation, the ugly and unwanted step-cousin of inspiration, out in the cold.  The same subject - a Campbell’s soup can - is treated very differently in each piece, but both pieces are successful in portraying a mundane part of everyday life.  Well done, boys.

So, all this thinking got me to keep on thinking about my songwriting.  There is consistently before me the challenge of letting the music of others inspire me without imitating them.

One of my biggest fears during the songwriting process is that I will end up writing a song that someone else has already written.  It’s unlikely that it would be word-for-word, but discovering that you accidentally copied a hook or melody line is the absolute worst feeling a songwriter can experience.  Having been raised "under a rock" as I affectionately say and not exposed to mainstream music until my early 20s, this challenge is especially intimidating.  However, I continue to face the challenge with a couple fingers on my keyboard and a couple fingers crossed.

This, on the other hand, I would NOT mind imitating.

If you need me, I'll be on the treadmill.

Theme Night

An idea popped into my head while I was roaming around the grounds of the Huntington Library yesterday thinking about how much I love being there.  The Huntington Library is a beautiful and serene haven with acres of gardens, art galleries, and a library with ancient and rare books.  

(I usually don't bring my camera because when I am there I like to relax and experience everything in the moment, but yesterday I snapped a few shots.  I am a blogger now after all.)

I first visited the Huntington on an Easter Sunday a few months after I moved to LA.  Those first few months were hard.  Very hard.  I absolutely hated living here.   To this girl from Maine the streets were dirty; the people were mean; and everything was way too expensive.  The Huntington Library was an oasis discovery.  I felt as if I had stepped out of Mordor and into the Shire.  Ahem… sorry.  The Huntington has been a favorite – if not the favorite – local destination ever since.

The idea?  I YFridays.  Or more appropriately, I Y blank Fridays. When I “discover” some fantastic experience I have a compulsion to share it with as many people as I can.  I suppose Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, would call me a maven.  So, every Friday here in For Tomorrow We Die, I will feature a thing, place, person, or idea (also known as a noun) that I Y.

I YFridays will not feature exclusively LA-specific  people, places, things, or ideas; however, I’m sure many of the posts will.  For those of you living in LA, maybe I YFridays will give you some ideas for new things to try.  For those of you not living in LA, maybe it will give you some reasons to come visit me!  I happen to be a born tour guide.  It goes along with the whole maven thing.

{ I Y The Huntington. }