In Praise of Copying

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Perhaps Boon himself recognized that using Heidegger as an authority early on would be problematic? Third, the intellectual apparatus of this book feels so incredibly dated. Had it been written ten years earlier, when Derrida was still the rage in English departments and some associated parts of the social sciences, it would have fit right into that milieu. Now, at least to this sociologist, it feels like a "blast from the past". He only seems to cite figures from philosophy and cultural theory as practiced by English departments in the US.

There are few or no sociologists or even cultural anthropologists. So much of the intellectual apparatus seemed to be simply warmed over critical theory rather than a broader and more interesting engagement with a variety of authors. Boon does cite Benjamin, who is the one thinker in this field whose thought I do think holds up, and refreshingly Boon cites David Graeber, who also has great things to say with respect to rules.

But as to the rest, I am not satisfied.

Finally, I am just left cold by Boon's efforts to show how Buddhism can reveal the limits of Western notions of the copy. From time to time he presents a "Buddhist viewpoint" but it feels tacked on rather than integrated into the analysis. In other words, and maybe I am too much of an academic traditionalist on this, but I think he needed to make a case and defend it early on, just as he should have with Plato.

We can use notions of Buddhism, as I will explain below, to show how other thought systems have conceptualized these things and how these 'alternative pathways' to use a phrase of sociologist of science David Hess can allow us to move past our current limitations. To do that, you really have to "speak American" as Garrison Keillor is fond of saying. The shame of it is, as I have stated above, is that Boon touches on issues of real import and has some very interesting and valuable things to say. I love how he uses hip hop culture as an example, something of which, not being at all musical due to profound hearing loss, I am not very knowledgable about.

Throughout the book he touches on a great many interesting examples. I would say, however, the best of these are much better materialized than his thinking which is primarily derived from those whose work derives from the postmodern obsession with images and the text. As someone who is personally committed to studying the material and not just the ideal, I am reminded of the problems many scholars face when trying to reconcile the two. I just don't think Boon's sources give him much help here.

He would be much better off studying those who have done more on material culture like Pamela Smith, Elizabeth Shove, Matthew Watson, Harvey Molotch and so on. Frustratingly he also touches on something hugely important in the coda, which is that language is inherently mimetic as the whole point of regularity in words and grammar is that we can be understood. Boon also illuminates beautifully the problems of intellectual copyright with respect to the academy, to which I can only say that I wish he had shown the baleful influence of that bunch of Dutch pirates the Elsevier group, who extract vast monopoly rents on their journal copyrights.

Indeed, I found the language of the intro and the coda to be beautifully clear and free of intellectual obscurantism - unlike the vast middle of this book. I wish he had only grounded the book more in actual examples and forewent the analysis. However, I have to make one pungent point about appropriation and ownership. I think Boon fails to acknowledge that individual authors should enjoy a form of ownership over their work. I think of my advisor's anger over the ways she has seen her own work and the work of other women scholars and writers appropriated by their male colleagues.

To say that we should move beyond private property is easy, but in reality, we do acknowledge private ownership in terms of priority. I should have to acknowledge wherever I get my ideas because without them, we cannot stand on the shoulders of giants as Isaac Newton once said. So, to rail against all forms of private property is wrong headed and can actually reinforce systems of inequality.

In Praise of Copying

The irony and the tragedy is that in indiscriminately lambasting "the West" and extolling the values of the "non-West" Boon not only recapitulates the error of the Manichaean dualistic way of thinking, but he also fails to close the door against the worst forms of "appropriation". View all 3 comments. May 09, Sparrow added it. A Tale of Two Cities: Marcus Boon and Copia I'm proud of my friend Marcus for defending the indefensible -- the multiple, maddening and redundant copies produced by contemporary capitalism -- without defending capitalism itself.

His argument unfolds like a series of Chinese hats, one inside the other. Quickly he locates the goddess Copia, mother of all copies. The cornucopia is her emblem: The only way to have lots and lots of anything -- grains of barley or Barbie dolls -- is A Tale of Two Cities: The only way to have lots and lots of anything -- grains of barley or Barbie dolls -- is to make duplicates. Besides, in this material universe, true duplicates don't exist. Each Barbie is -- under a microscope -- unique. In his breathtaking first chapter, "What Is a Copy? Once individually handcrafted in an atelier in Paris, these handbags now exist in multiple variants and copies, some perfect duplicates, some absurdly amateurish.

Takashi Murakami, the Japanese artist, included counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags in a show at the Brooklyn Museum in Consumer capitalism has become a Talmud of products imitating and endlessly critiquing the ur-texts of Chanel, Levi's, Louis Vuitton and Tom Cruise movies. Marcus' most remarkable contribution is the question: Titles cannot be copyrighted. For example, I am using words right now. Words are all copies of other words. In a sense, all writers are plagiarizing the dictionary. For example, how many other thinkers have already written: Let me search for that sentence on Google.

I am more unique than I thought! Even when I'm trying not to be. Marcus raises numerous questions. What are the ethics of copying? Is there "good" and "evil" copying?

Should modern people try to make new works of art that have never been essayed before? Or is pure copying -- like Christian and Buddhist monks duplicating the great Scriptures -- as valid as "art"? The central argument as I see it is that the Platonic ideal on which copyright law is based no longer holds. Yes, at one time Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, and crafty forgers made sleazy fakes.

The Buddhist concept of sunyata "emptiness" best explains all our contemporary stuff. The latest number one Hollywood movie Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is based on a children's book, which is a variant of The Cat in the Hat, which itself derives from African-American minstrel shows according to The Dartmouth magazine -- I just found this on Google, in 0. Copying allows variation, which makes our era confusing, noisy and wildly fertile. Nov 01, Malcolm rated it liked it Shelves: The value we place on originality is one of the great paradoxes of the modern and contemporary worlds, alongside the limits dominant ideas and ideals in our existing political cultural climates draw around legitimate forms of cooperation, appropriation, deception, transformation and combination of things into something different and perhaps new.

In the age since the Romantics and as solidified by the Modernism, a celebration of individual originality has become one of the great markers of our times. All this makes for a superb read. There is much about this book that is an exploration of the tensions between the individual and their community, between shameless grandstanding and the knowing irony of displaying the fake, the wonder that is the montage as a cultural, artistic and political practice, and the notion that copy is derived form the Latin for plenty copia — as in copious.

Just one of these would be rich pickings for a scholarly analysis — and Boon challenges us by weaving them together and more, to explore as noted above ideas of copying as appropriation, deception, transformation and montage. To copy, for Boon, seems to be a fundamental element of being human — so not nihilism, but a recognition of copying as an essential aspect of humanity.

Jul 12, Gerard Brown rated it it was ok. Now finally finished with this. Its major achievement was to bring mimesis into the conversation.

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But now I find myself thinking of other things it could have done Boon's argument is at once predictable and far out. Its rhythm of introducing a problematic example, analyzing it, then turning to Buddhist notions to enlarge it and view it from another perspective gets tiresome and needs to be varied. He also seems to gloss over a lot of real and substantial ideological differences whe Now finally finished with this.

He also seems to gloss over a lot of real and substantial ideological differences when he takes such a broad view. Not as engaging as I'd hoped Mar 23, Kory rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Marcus Boon examines copying as a whole and as various parts, though he touches on IP this book isn't so much about agreeing or disagreeing with copyright, but examining what is copying and how it is affected and how it affects.

One of his main points is that copying is an aspect of humanity and even nature. I would have liked if more attention had been paid to IP laws in this book as I feel some very good insight could have been given, but I guess without it it does fall to the readers to determ Marcus Boon examines copying as a whole and as various parts, though he touches on IP this book isn't so much about agreeing or disagreeing with copyright, but examining what is copying and how it is affected and how it affects. I would have liked if more attention had been paid to IP laws in this book as I feel some very good insight could have been given, but I guess without it it does fall to the readers to determine that for themselves.

Feb 28, Elizabeth rated it really liked it Shelves: Boon does a lovely job of distinguishing himself amongst the larger crowd of copy-left proponents to offer a philosophical treatise on what copying really is and what the human stakes behind the practice entail. I do think he over-relied on theory which, when combined with his explanations of Buddhist traditions, got too heavy to parse at junctures. But, the overall spirit of this book make it a strong contribution to the current and continued discussions of the issue.

Apr 13, Ginger Price rated it liked it.

Koons recently sent a "cease-and-desist" letter to an artist he claimed was copying his balloon dog sculptures. Like Fairey, Koons settled this case out of court. The Koons case received quite a bit of coverage because this artist has been sued several times for copyright infringement.

A better-known case is perhaps Rogers v.

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These vignettes are among the many that touch upon the variety of questions concerning the nature of copies and originals. While the computer, the Internet and our global society have perhaps heightened awareness of what we gain and lose with copies, as Marcus Boon shows in his book, In Praise of Copying , the subject of copying is neither new nor simple. Walking us through an immense volume of information, Boon argues that copying is an essential part of being human and demonstrates the complexity of the subject. The strength of Boon's book is this author's ability to write easy-to-read text and to simultaneously provide an erudite discussion.

In part, this is accomplished by putting many of the nuances into the footnotes. This is an effective approach given the breadth of the presentation. Equally compelling is the volume's originality, particularly in light of a thesis that validates copying. I wondered if he would argue, along the [End Page 73] lines of a Nietzsche quote he includes, that life itself is an appropriation, and thus his work is more a compilation of material than an original perspective.

In any case, in my view, the presentation is novel due to Boon's use of Buddhism as a touchstone to the broad sweep of Western ideas.

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The author explains that his impetus to write the book grew out of the observation that copying is pervasive in contemporary culture, yet at the same time subject to laws, restrictions and attitudes that suggest "copying" is wrong. Proposing that we need to rethink how we see the tension between copies and originals, Boon suggests that Mahayana Buddhism, in its various historical forms, offers entry into the subject because it provides a way to rethink the common duality of terms that have historically supported Western views.

Even before I read the volume, the tensions between originals and copies did not strike me as a dichotomy. One interesting aspect of the Buddhist perspective is that it allows for a comprehensive overview and does not compel a "new" ethics, so to speak. Rather the effort highlights the role of copies in our culture, largely through a weaving of critical theory, philosophical history and cultural examples. Platonic mimesis is meshed with memes.

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