Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but that doesn’t mean that it is always appropriate in the art world. On the contrary, for centuries great importance has been placed on the notion of an ‘original’. This word has various meanings and comes with ‘baggage’, so to speak – it once was a term used in philosophy and science meaning the thing from which something arises, a usage which is no longer current but which of course relates to art in the sense that pieces which show an ‘original’ (that is to say, innovative) train of thought are sometimes the instigators of new movements or trends in art. More commonly, though, it means that the work was created firsthand, and can be shown to be made by a particular person. It is The Work, the real thing – and from it, copies can be made. The copies are generally [...]