I am troubled by the observation that the rhetoric of invention is currently being used by artists to describe what, in previous times, was simply thought of as imitation, research, or curating. Calling the latter three “invention” would have been plagiarism or ignorance. Perhaps the elevation of the DJ to the role of central creator is having unintended consequences in current generations of artists, or perhaps the desire for reputation has finally and completely eclipsed the desire for creation? I guess that is not new either, but it seems a cultural impulse now rather than a strictly personal one. I cannot believe that listening to or studying Bach makes you Bach. Maybe these are postmodern times after all.
The act of naming is an implicit claim to creation, discovery, and invention. But a Les Paul does not need renaming.
* It would be more re(f/v)erential and perhaps artistic, but less guitaristic, to say a rose is a rose.
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