[Thor Joachim Haga]

I didn’t intend to launch a whole “what is art?” discussion (some people say that a banana peel on the wall is art, when it’s in a gallery, so who’s to say?), but rather that aesthetic pleasure (or displeasure) can come via various means. Originality is certainly one of them, but so are the others. A piece of art can be very unoriginal, yet ignite all the other aspects of art appreciation.

John Debney’s CUTTHROAT ISLAND isn’t terribly original, but packs an emotional wallop in its entertaining pastiche of pirate action adventure music. At least it did when I was younger. So by igniting those other criteria, I still consider it a piece of art, with an aesthetic-emotional effect on me. The other criteria are just as important as originality. It doesn’t ceaze to be a piece of art just because it’s lacking in the originality area.