This is the English version of the article “la rivolta dell’arte generativa contro il culto dell’unicità” presented on Notiziarte and ArTech MagaZinE
The myth of originality
For centuries, the art world has propagated a pseudo-truth: originality, understood as inimitable, sacred uniqueness, bearer of prestige. Artworks were revered like relics, produced by the genius of an exceptional author, almost as if they were the result of divine inspiration. Yet this conception has always been fragile, as uniqueness reveals itself to be a chimera built upon internalized models by the artist—variations of pre-existing ideas and forms, aesthetics recontextualized and adapted to give life to works that, however brilliant they may seem, remain filtered re-editions of a cultural archive.
With the rise of generative art, artificial intelligence doesn’t “create” works in the traditional sense; it unleashes a true creative earthquake—an ecosystem of relentless and unpredictable mutations. Each production is neither simply a brilliant, original idea nor a pale copy: it is a rebellious hybrid that breaks the boundaries of classical art.
The artist, once the guarantor of an immutable idea, becomes the designer of a dynamic process in which each iteration not only challenges, but deconstructs and reconstructs the traditional concepts of authenticity.
The Copy as Manifesto
The copy, historically despised as a sterile, worthless imitation, now becomes the epochal manifesto of generativity. No longer a horrifying simulacrum, it embodies the transparency and radicality of a world in which each repetition carries a spark of innovation. The “true” original is nothing more than the first link in an infinite chain of derivations—an idealized formula that dissolves in the face of transformative multiplicity.
The boldest provocation emerges in the unmasking of the entire dogma of originality, an obsolete pillar of modern artistic thinking. Uniqueness, nourished by supposed moments of divine inspiration, is revealed instead as the product of preconstituted mechanisms—models internalized and continuously reinterpreted. In The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin denounces how the aura of the artwork, symbol of its unrepeatable status, is eroded in the context of reproduction—anticipating a dynamic akin to generative art. Likewise, Roland Barthes, in The Death of the Author, urges us to dismantle the myth of the creative genius, arguing that the meaning of a work emerges from its reception and from multiple interpretations, rather than from the uncontaminated origin of an idea.
These concepts are further explored by Gilles Deleuze in Difference and Repetition, where repetition is not seen as mere duplication, but as a process in which each recurrence brings new nuances and unforeseen transformations. This idea resonates with Lev Manovich’s vision in The Language of New Media, where he highlights how new media and digital technology have radically altered the concept of art-making, replacing the static notion of originality with iterative and dynamic systems.
The Creative Power of Infinite Variants
The traditional system, once extolling the paradigm of the unrepeatable work, now reveals itself as an ideological strategy aimed at limiting creative potential and perpetuating an elitist vision of art. Today, artistic value no longer resides in the creation of immutable entities, but in the ability to generate infinite variants that multiply and transform, escaping the author’s control and dismantling archaic hierarchies. Matt Pearson, in Generative Art: A Practical Guide Using Processing, concretely demonstrates how repetition is not synonymous with sterile copying, but a method for creating works in constant evolution. Similarly, Hito Steyerl in In Defense of the Poor Image emphasizes how the advent of digital images and their reproducibility have democratized art, turning every copy into a source of new interpretations.
True art is no longer a statue carved in the marble of time, but a battlefield in constant flux, where the copy—far from being condemned—is celebrated as the most daring and transgressive creative act. This vision, supported by prominent thinkers and theorists, invites us to radically rethink the value of originality, paving the way for a conception of art where transformation and iteration are the undisputed protagonists.
References:
- Walter Benjamin – The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
Italian Wikipedia page - Roland Barthes – The Death of the Author
- Gilles Deleuze – Difference and Repetition
Italian Wikipedia page - Lev Manovich – The Language of New Media
English Wikipedia page - Matt Pearson – Generative Art: A Practical Guide Using Processing
Amazon link - Hito Steyerl – In Defense of the Poor Image
e-flux article