original.

one of the greatest words ever. and one that can today be applied so sparingly. originals are still highly regarded and to many ardently collected and protected. whether a painting or a person an original always means just one. only one. another one would be a new original. another one of a kind. but in a culture of duplication and replication the regard for originals has waned. having the patina of something original or the form of something original often is enough--our appetites so grossly overdeveloped that we need constant feeding. nothing will sate us anymore. like the glutton at a feast we cannot pack in quickly enough what appears to be delicious and extraordinary. and just as quickly it passes through--making room for more. an original had the ability to not only sustain us but to make us forget for a moment--that we were hungry at all.