It’s All Been Done

“In a post-postmodernist culture swamped in sequels, self-reference, adaptation, irony, parody, reality TV, digital sampling and the thud-beat of rap, newness has become a novelty item, a dated curio from another age.” But does the reliance on old ideas necessarily mean artists aren’t creating original work? According to Steven Winn, that’s exactly what it means, and the art world is the worse for the lack of creative originality.