12.7 Appropriation art

Appropriation art emerged in the late 1970s, challenging traditional notions of authorship and originality. Artists borrowed and recontextualized existing images and objects from popular culture and art history to create new works, building on ideas from Duchamp's readymades and Pop Art.

This movement questioned the concept of originality, critiqued consumerism and mass media, and recontextualized familiar images. Notable artists like Sherrie Levine, Richard Prince, and Barbara Kruger used techniques such as rephotography, collage, and digital manipulation to explore these themes and spark debates on copyright and authorship.

Origins of appropriation art

• Appropriation art emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a postmodern art movement that challenged traditional notions of authorship, originality, and ownership in art
• Artists began borrowing, copying, and recontextualizing existing images, objects, and ideas from popular culture, mass media, and art history to create new works of art
• Appropriation art builds upon the ideas of Marcel Duchamp's readymades and the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, which incorporated imagery from consumer culture and mass media into fine art

Challenging notions of originality

Top images from around the web for Challenging notions of originality

• 

  Tim Mara’s Prints Narrative – SOCKS View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Mona Lisa - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  These are all of Maurizio Cattelan’s Horse sculptures View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Tim Mara’s Prints Narrative – SOCKS View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Mona Lisa - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Challenging notions of originality

• 

  Tim Mara’s Prints Narrative – SOCKS View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Mona Lisa - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  These are all of Maurizio Cattelan’s Horse sculptures View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Tim Mara’s Prints Narrative – SOCKS View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Mona Lisa - Wikipedia View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Appropriation artists question the idea that art must be original or unique by deliberately copying, reproducing, or borrowing existing images and objects
• By recontextualizing familiar images, appropriation art challenges the viewer to reconsider the meaning and value of the original work and the role of the artist as creator
• Appropriation art suggests that originality is a myth and that all art is influenced by and borrows from pre-existing cultural sources

Critiquing consumerism and mass media

• Appropriation artists often use images and objects from advertising, mass media, and consumer culture to critique the pervasive influence of these sources on society and individual identity
• By recontextualizing these images in an art context, appropriation art exposes the manipulative and ideological nature of mass media and consumerism
• Examples include Barbara Kruger's use of advertising slogans and imagery to critique gender stereotypes and consumerism, and Richard Prince's rephotographing of Marlboro cigarette ads to question the myths of masculinity and the American West

Recontextualizing familiar images

• Appropriation artists often use well-known images from art history, popular culture, or mass media and present them in new contexts to alter their meaning and significance
• By removing images from their original context and placing them in an art context, appropriation art encourages viewers to reconsider the cultural, political, and social implications of the image
• Examples include Sherrie Levine's reproductions of famous artworks by male artists to challenge notions of authorship and originality, and Jeff Koons' use of kitsch objects and imagery to blur the boundaries between high art and popular culture

Notable appropriation artists

Sherrie Levine

• Sherrie Levine is known for her series "After Walker Evans," in which she rephotographed famous Depression-era photographs by Walker Evans and presented them as her own work
• Levine's work questions the idea of authorship and originality in art and suggests that all art is a form of appropriation and reproduction
• Her work also critiques the male-dominated canon of art history and the idea of the singular, genius artist

Richard Prince

• Richard Prince is known for his "Cowboy" series, in which he rephotographed Marlboro cigarette advertisements featuring the iconic cowboy figure and presented them as fine art
• Prince's work questions the myths and ideologies embedded in advertising imagery and the construction of masculinity and American identity
• His work also raises questions about copyright, authorship, and the distinction between fine art and commercial imagery

Barbara Kruger

• Barbara Kruger is known for her bold, graphic works that combine found photographs with provocative text slogans that critique consumerism, gender stereotypes, and power structures
• Kruger's work appropriates the visual language of advertising and mass media to expose their manipulative and ideological nature
• Her work often addresses issues of feminism, identity, and social justice, using appropriation as a tool for political and social critique

Techniques used in appropriation art

Rephotography

• Rephotography involves taking a photograph of an existing photograph or reproducing an image through photographic means
• Appropriation artists like Sherrie Levine and Richard Prince have used rephotography to create works that question the nature of originality and authorship in art
• Rephotography can also be used to recontextualize or critique the original image, as in Prince's "Cowboy" series, which questions the myths and ideologies embedded in advertising imagery

Collage and montage

• Collage and montage involve combining multiple images or elements from different sources into a single composition
• Appropriation artists often use collage and montage to create new meanings and associations between disparate images and to critique the media-saturated culture of contemporary society
• Examples include Martha Rosler's "Bringing the War Home" series, which combines images of domestic interiors with scenes of war and violence to critique the media's representation of the Vietnam War

Digital manipulation

• With the advent of digital technology, appropriation artists have new tools for manipulating and recontextualizing images
• Digital manipulation allows artists to seamlessly combine, alter, and transform appropriated imagery in ways that were previously impossible
• Examples include Penelope Umbrico's "Suns from Sunsets from Flickr" series, which appropriates and digitally collages thousands of sunset images from the photo-sharing website Flickr to create large-scale installations that comment on the proliferation and banality of digital imagery in the age of social media

Controversial aspects of appropriation

Copyright infringement vs fair use

• Appropriation art often raises questions of copyright infringement, as artists borrow and reproduce existing images without permission from the original creators
• However, many appropriation artists argue that their work falls under the doctrine of fair use, which allows for the use of copyrighted material for purposes such as criticism, commentary, and parody
• The line between copyright infringement and fair use in appropriation art is often blurry and has been the subject of numerous legal disputes and debates

Debates on authorship and ownership

• Appropriation art challenges traditional notions of authorship and ownership in art, suggesting that all art is a form of borrowing and that the idea of the singular, original artist is a myth
• Critics of appropriation art argue that it is a form of theft or plagiarism that devalues the work of the original creators and undermines the integrity of the art world
• Proponents of appropriation art argue that it is a legitimate and necessary form of cultural critique that exposes the ways in which images and ideas circulate and are constructed in contemporary society

Impact of appropriation art

Influence on postmodernism

• Appropriation art is a key component of postmodernism, a broad cultural movement that emerged in the late 20th century and is characterized by a skepticism towards grand narratives, a blurring of high and low culture, and a questioning of traditional notions of originality and authenticity
• Appropriation art embodies many of the key themes and strategies of postmodernism, including pastiche, irony, and the deconstruction of meaning and identity
• The use of appropriation in art has helped to shape the broader postmodern sensibility in fields such as literature, music, and film

Legacy in contemporary art practices

• Appropriation art has had a lasting impact on contemporary art practices and continues to be a widely used strategy among artists today
• Many contemporary artists use appropriation to engage with issues of identity, politics, and social justice, often in combination with other media and technologies such as video, installation, and performance
• Examples include Hank Willis Thomas' "Unbranded" series, which appropriates and digitally manipulates advertising images to critique the representation of African Americans in media and popular culture, and Cindy Sherman's "Untitled Film Stills" series, which appropriates the visual language of classic Hollywood cinema to explore issues of gender, identity, and representation

Appropriation in digital age

Memes as appropriation

• In the digital age, appropriation has taken on new forms and meanings, particularly through the phenomenon of internet memes
• Memes involve the rapid appropriation, recontextualization, and circulation of images and ideas across social media platforms and online communities
• Memes can be seen as a form of digital folk art that relies on appropriation and remix culture to create new meanings and associations, often with a humorous or satirical intent

Social media and image sharing

• Social media platforms and image-sharing websites have made it easier than ever for individuals to appropriate and recontextualize images and ideas from a wide range of sources
• The proliferation of user-generated content and the ease of digital manipulation have blurred the lines between original and appropriated content, raising new questions about authorship, ownership, and the nature of creativity in the digital age
• The use of appropriation in social media and online communities has also led to new forms of cultural critique and political activism, as individuals use memes and other appropriated content to challenge dominant narratives and power structures