The Same But Different

Sometimes a piece of work is seen as new and original but sometimes the idea and even the image has been seen and used before, sometimes even many times before. However how the piece looks, the design and perhaps even the message can and usually are very different. Many designers have recreated famous images through their own work. This may be because a development in technology or development in time or a different message that wants to be conveyed by the designer.

Hokusia's Wave is probably one of the most, if not the most, famous wood block prints and comes from a series of thirty six views of Mount Fuji it is probably one of the most re-used images.

'The graceful snow-clad mountain stands out unperturbed against the deep blue of the horizon. Yet it is reduced to a tiny hillock compared with the towering strength of the wave which threatens to engulf the struggling boats. Such clever, playful manipulation of the composition is a feature of many of Hokusai's works.' The British Museum
Over the years Hokusia's, The Great Wave has been interpreted many times for different purposes.

Levi recreates the wave for an advert for their jeans. Using the jeans to create the wave.

The Great San Francisco wave

The Street Wave

 Jonathan Wakuda Fischer- The recreation of the great wave in spray paint

Bernard Pras recreates the wave from everyday objects around us

 

Chris Jordan's installation piece using 2.4 million pieces of organic waste to recreate Hokusia's wave

Uprising – Kozyndan