“There is a standing dictum about [art] forgery: It will never last beyond one generation. The style of the maker is permeated by his generation. No matter how he tries, his own time will eventually show in what he does... People a generation hence may howl with laughter and wonder how we could have been fooled.”
- John McPhee, A Roomful of Hovings
3 comments:
There is a lot of experience and a lot to ponder in this rule, but it is based on the (perhaps arrogant or dangerous) assumption that all forgeries are eventually discovered--which we hardly know to be the case. In other words, this dictum presupposes its own truth.
There is all kinds of strange and faulty logic here. Reminiscent of locking the barn door after the horse is gone, we are told that experts are infallible the second time around. Also, if an object has been accepted for several generations, should it be considered forevermore indubitably authentic? Respectable art professionals won’t employ this kind of wishful thinking as part of their technique.
--Road to Parnassus
I don't know anything about how many forgeries are found out, and how, but I will defer to you, RTP. I found this quote interesting in the context of this blog, with the center of gravity being more around fallibility than infallibility. Being timeless is a challenge for just the reason stated. The quote rings true around the attempts of companies to update classics. For example, L.L. Bean launched a long term strategy of company re-invention in their Signature line. But just a few years later, we see the unmistakable and already dated influence of the Hipster/Gay/ Grunge/Metrosexual culture of the last decade deeply etched in it. This pastiche feels more and more like McPhee's forgeries, where time and a broader context have been especially and predictably cruel.
Now you have my curiosity piqued!
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