Can art be an imitation?

Question

Can art be an imitation?

Answer 1

"All art is an imitation of nature."  Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)

"Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life."  Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)  

Answer 2

"Art is more of a representation of than an imitation of. The eye of man only perceives the things around him but never embraces them physically. The images of seen objects are simply simply photons of light processed and filtered by ones optical and neurological system.

Art is created based on the artists' perceptions, as the viewer or listeners' perception."

me, 2008

Answer 3

wow, thanks for all the detail, buddy.

I guess most art is imitation of real life or ones perception of real life.

If you're talking literally then if you do a painting of a photo it could be art, but if you copy another artist's painting and claiming it was your own then it is imitation. I donno...