The Original in Art

[Ghoulish Delight]

In that case, I fall back on my second statement, that the physical arts are in their viewable form out-of-the box, while performance art is created in a transitory state. The artist in the former meant for it to be viewed mainly in the form it's in not as a reproduction, while the artist in the latter meant for it to be viewed as a transitory reproduction.

That's not to say there's no value in reading a play's manuscript, or examining a piece of sheet music for yourself. Certainly one can gain greater appreciation for a director's vision if you've read the play yourself. Just as one will appreciate a painting more if you're familiar with the subject of that painting (thus the constant research to identify who exactly Mona Lisa was and her relationship to DaVinci. And The Last Supper surely would not carry the same weight if it were just Twelve Dudes Having Dinner).