The Complexity of Authenticity

Moving forward in developing new products and enhancements, authenticity is one of the most important attributes of our material culture. However authenticity turns out to be most difficult to describe. The magazine Interactions has an enlightening article "On Authenticity" that is worth reading.

"Some advise that the best way to deliver authenticity is to be authentic (either in the art historian’s sense or the philosopher’s sense, though each requires a different set of corporate actions). Perhaps in our goal to deliver authenticity we should strive instead to avoid inauthenticity. Perhaps the straightest path to inauthenticity is to fail to investigate the meaning of what you are delivering, asking not only yourselves, but also your customers, who will ultimately define your authenticity."

Are the gourmet copies of Hostess cupcakes authentic? A confusing question, but we know that the image above from the sixtyminuteartist.com is art. Gourmet cupcakes are an authentic concept in themselves, and only memory will tell each of us individually if they are authentically "Hostess."