I can't disagree with that observation at all. I think that is just a basic fact of life in all the arts. We all become prisoners of our times, and it takes some rare geniuses to kick us (collectively) out of our well-worn-grooves. I don't put Prince and Levine in that group, though.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to pin down the time period a song was recorded when you hear it on the radio? Even if you don't know the song, or maybe have never even heard it, it is generally easy to pin it down to a specific time period. Same is true in classical music. A piece written during the baroque period, sounds, well, baroque. And is very different from a late Romantic composition.
I think a lot of photographers do imitate some of the masters on occasion. I look at it as an activity sort of like learning scales, riffs and 'old standards' in music. The mistake comes in believing that it is original or noteworthy. Nothing wrong per se in creating a AA lookalike photo, but expecting the world to start pounding a path to your door is just naive.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to pin down the time period a song was recorded when you hear it on the radio? Even if you don't know the song, or maybe have never even heard it, it is generally easy to pin it down to a specific time period. Same is true in classical music. A piece written during the baroque period, sounds, well, baroque. And is very different from a late Romantic composition.
I think a lot of photographers do imitate some of the masters on occasion. I look at it as an activity sort of like learning scales, riffs and 'old standards' in music. The mistake comes in believing that it is original or noteworthy. Nothing wrong per se in creating a AA lookalike photo, but expecting the world to start pounding a path to your door is just naive.