

What did Steve Jobs mean when saying, “Good artists copy, Great artists steal” - anderzole
http://www.edibleapple.com/steve-jobs-referenced-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal/

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alan-crowe
I've seen the quote "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." attributed
to Igor Stravinsky, and I understand like this:

Artist A creates a good work that acquires a certain degree of fame. Whistle
the tune and people think of A. Later artist B creates a derived work, perhaps
B orchestrates it or adds words. For example Gounod's Ave Maria based on the
Prelude I from Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues. It gets more interested if B
moves things along in a big way.

For a while the new version eclipses the old. But has B borrowed A's work, or
stolen it? Time passes. Time's cruel erosion of reputation wears down both A
and B. Eventually only one is widely remembered. If it is A that is
remembered, the cognoscente think that B was the lesser artist who
metaphorically borrowed A's work. If it is B that is remembered, the
cognoscente think that B was the great artist, who metaphorically stole A's
work.

Borrow/Steal is the verdict of history, choosing to remember a single artist.
It is not a comment on the morality of the conduct of artist B.

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Daishiman
Blah blah, let's spin this so Jobs doesn't look like the hypocrite he is.

