Seminal
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A seminal work is a work from which other works grow. The term usually refers to an intellectual or artistic achievement whose ideas and techniques have been adopted or responded to in later works by other people, either in the same field or in the general culture.
Seminal works should not be confused with magnum opus, which refers to the greatest work of a single individual, and not necessarily to that which has inspired the most work by others. For example, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon can be described correctly as a seminal work of Cubism. But this would not prevent one from calling another work of Picasso's, such as Guernica, his magnum opus.
Dictionary
- Of or relating to seed or semen
- creative or having the power to originate
- highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research
Related keywords
avant-garde - avant la lettre - futurism - greatness - innovation - precursor - early - original - power - proto - seminal (work)
