A Koan from Jean Cocteau
Mosaic by Sandra
Millott, 1991, in Rebar Restaurant
An original artist is unable to
copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.
— Jean Cocteau
Cocteau’s clever paradox began to gnaw at
me the first time I read it. The text seems
contradictory and like a lot of quotes I come across
on the internet, it would be easy to dismiss and
forget. But when I took a moment to unravel this
little knot and I found something worthwhile (...I
think...).
A French modernist, Jean Cocteau was at the center
of the Parisian avant garde in the early twentieth
century. As a proponent of surrealism he was eager
to expand our sense of reality, to discover our
boundaries and fields of gravity.
This “frisson” is evident in Cocteau’s
paradox. His first sentence, an original artist
is unable to copy, provides our center of
gravity: his premise, which we can accept, or debate.
I’m inclined to allow it as something close to
self-evident. The leading clause in the second
sentence, he has only to copy, acts as a
hinge to open the boundaries of our understanding.
Because it’s impossible for an original artist to
copy, when she attempts to imitate or copy others,
she simply CANNOT. Therefore whatever efforts she
makes to copy all result in something new and
original.
Consider an example. Pablo Picasso was well known
for his obsession with primitive art forms. He
collected them, studied them, tried to incorporate
them into his own sphere. But it was impossible
for him to copy them. Every effort he made
generated something unique.
I’m not surprised that Picasso and Cocteau were well
acquainted. The painter and poet shared a certain
approach to their work and audience. They both amuse
and perplex us. Both artists open our eyes to new
perspectives on the world. Fifty years later, their
influence still resonates and their work rings
true.