Homage (arts)

Description

It was originally a declaration of fealty in the feudal system – swearing that one was the man (French: homme), or subordinate, of the feudal lord. The concept then became used figuratively for an acknowledgement of quality or superiority. For example, a man might give homage to a lady, so honouring her beauty and other graces. In German scholarship, followers of a great scholar developed the custom of honouring their mentor by producing papers for a festschrift dedicated to him.

In music, homage can take the form of a composition (Homage to Paderewski), a tribute album (Homage to Charles Parker) or a sample. Digital techniques used to generate many forms of media make it easy to borrow from other works, and this remediation may be used in homage to them.