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Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist. Nor does it deserve respect from the artistic community. All it says is that I have en

Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist. Nor does it deserve respect from the artistic community. All it says is that I have enough skill to operate a paint brush when given an exact template.

theorique 14y ago
Why is originality so important? If they execute well and earn return on investment, that is the purpose of a business. This is not art - it's creating and serving customers.
mrkurt 14y ago
It also gives people a chance to own a decent Picasso painting who would otherwise never have the opportunity, which deserves respect, I think.
dopamean 14y ago
"Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist." That is true. I don't think the Samwers (or anyone for that matter) think of themselves as visionaries with great ideas. They are businessmen who know how to a run a business. I think many would say that the Samwers do not operate in the artistic community at all. They run businesses and a business is not a piece of art. Are the ideas copied? Yes. Does it lack class? Perhaps. Are the ideas well executed. Absolutely. If it was so easy that it didn't deserve any respect at all then everyone would do it. The Samwers are good at what they do and it deserves respect even if part of what they do is copying existing ideas.
squarecat 14y ago
Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist. It makes you a great reproductionist and it's probably a marketable skill. Nor does it deserve respect from the artistic community. "Respect" is a highly subjective thing that is often achieved at a net negative cost. Historically, many respected artists were under-appreciated by their contemporaries, dying broke and alone. All it says is that I have enough skill to operate a paint brush when given an exact template. The skill of an artisan is not necessarily measured by originality. And unlike a quality such as "great artist", skill is largely quantifiable, the rarer the ability, (typically) the greater the demand for it.
silverbax88 14y ago
This is true, but art and business are not exact mirrors. Business has a lot more in common with sports and war than art. Sports teams copy each other like crazy when they see something working. Facebook was a copycat. Google was a copycat. Every television network in existence would be considered a copycat of the DuMont Television Network. NASDAQ is a copycat. Best Buy is a copycat. American Idol is a copycat. Not sure where you draw the line on originality.
- kurtvarner 14y ago
  There's a big difference between your examples and copying a company down to the pixel level. Come on, copying literally every pixel. As a designer and entrepreneur, I strongly feel there is something wrong with that. It is purely theft.
  - richoakley 14y ago
    I agree 100%, which is why I raised that in my post. I think it would add a lot to their credibility if they produced original websites for their startups..
  - sillysaurus 14y ago
    theft The word "theft" implies that someone is being "wronged" by the action. If we ask ourselves "is this the case? Is anyone harmed by the actions of the Samwer brothers?" then, after we force ourselves to really sit and think about the answer to the question, and after we attempt to find real-world examples which support our point of view, then we find ourselves in the uncomfortable situation of being inexorably pushed, prodded, and shoved toward the inevitable conclusion: No. No one was harmed. In fact, just the opposite: the people who now have access to the cloned services now enjoy a higher quality of life due to it. In short, inasmuch as I share your prejudice, I cannot figure out any way of reconciling that prejudice with the honest assessment that the world is now more enriched than it was prior to the Samwers.
    - biafra 14y ago
      The people working for RI and the incubated companies are wronged. The copying is not the problem. The problem is how they treat their employees. In the Berlin tech scene, if you were working for rocket you are treated as an easy victim. As someone who accepts every insult, being yelled at and every wrong that is done to them.
qznc 14y ago
The problem is I would have to wait a long time until Picasso comes to my country. Thanks to the Samwer brothers there is already a local painter, who provides similar services.
baddox 14y ago
And yet, classical musicians (and orchestras) are considered great artists for performing compositions by Bach, Beethoven, etc.
therandomguy 14y ago
If you can replicate art I will respect your talent to replicate. Not everyone can.

theorique 14y ago

Why is originality so important? If they execute well and earn return on investment, that is the purpose of a business. This is not art - it's creating and serving customers.

mrkurt 14y ago

It also gives people a chance to own a decent Picasso painting who would otherwise never have the opportunity, which deserves respect, I think.

dopamean 14y ago

"Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist." That is true. I don't think the Samwers (or anyone for that matter) think of themselves as visionaries with great ideas. They are businessmen who know how to a run a business. I think many would say that the Samwers do not operate in the artistic community at all. They run businesses and a business is not a piece of art. Are the ideas copied? Yes. Does it lack class? Perhaps. Are the ideas well executed. Absolutely. If it was so easy that it didn't deserve any respect at all then everyone would do it. The Samwers are good at what they do and it deserves respect even if part of what they do is copying existing ideas.

squarecat 14y ago

Being able to paint copies of a Picasso does not make you a great artist. It makes you a great reproductionist and it's probably a marketable skill. Nor does it deserve respect from the artistic community. "Respect" is a highly subjective thing that is often achieved at a net negative cost. Historically, many respected artists were under-appreciated by their contemporaries, dying broke and alone. All it says is that I have enough skill to operate a paint brush when given an exact template. The skill of an artisan is not necessarily measured by originality. And unlike a quality such as "great artist", skill is largely quantifiable, the rarer the ability, (typically) the greater the demand for it.

silverbax88 14y ago

This is true, but art and business are not exact mirrors. Business has a lot more in common with sports and war than art. Sports teams copy each other like crazy when they see something working. Facebook was a copycat. Google was a copycat. Every television network in existence would be considered a copycat of the DuMont Television Network. NASDAQ is a copycat. Best Buy is a copycat. American Idol is a copycat. Not sure where you draw the line on originality.

kurtvarner 14y ago
There's a big difference between your examples and copying a company down to the pixel level. Come on, copying literally every pixel. As a designer and entrepreneur, I strongly feel there is something wrong with that. It is purely theft.
- richoakley 14y ago
  I agree 100%, which is why I raised that in my post. I think it would add a lot to their credibility if they produced original websites for their startups..
- sillysaurus 14y ago
  theft The word "theft" implies that someone is being "wronged" by the action. If we ask ourselves "is this the case? Is anyone harmed by the actions of the Samwer brothers?" then, after we force ourselves to really sit and think about the answer to the question, and after we attempt to find real-world examples which support our point of view, then we find ourselves in the uncomfortable situation of being inexorably pushed, prodded, and shoved toward the inevitable conclusion: No. No one was harmed. In fact, just the opposite: the people who now have access to the cloned services now enjoy a higher quality of life due to it. In short, inasmuch as I share your prejudice, I cannot figure out any way of reconciling that prejudice with the honest assessment that the world is now more enriched than it was prior to the Samwers.
  - biafra 14y ago
    The people working for RI and the incubated companies are wronged. The copying is not the problem. The problem is how they treat their employees. In the Berlin tech scene, if you were working for rocket you are treated as an easy victim. As someone who accepts every insult, being yelled at and every wrong that is done to them.

qznc 14y ago

The problem is I would have to wait a long time until Picasso comes to my country. Thanks to the Samwer brothers there is already a local painter, who provides similar services.

baddox 14y ago

And yet, classical musicians (and orchestras) are considered great artists for performing compositions by Bach, Beethoven, etc.

therandomguy 14y ago

If you can replicate art I will respect your talent to replicate. Not everyone can.