What exactly is appropriation??
Now that we know what appropriation is, it's time to look at the scandal that has happened recently in art news. A man named Richard Prince had taken to his Instagram feed to create his next art collection. Simply by scrolling down his feed, he screenshotted photos that fit together somewhat and from there blew them up and put them on display to eventually make $100,000 off of them.
In my opinion what Richard Prince did was completely wrong. Firstly by taking the pictures from Instagram without any permission whatsoever but also selling them to make a profit. Even though there is somewhat credit to the Instagram user he used the photos from by displaying their user name and comments. I was so curious in this incident a bit more.. I found a site called theverge.com which had an article about the topic. In it it talked about how the photos were "mostly of young women in seductive or vulnerable poses" which left me to the question why would he choose these photos? Was it a plan to sell them in the long run? Continuing on with the article it stated that Richard Prince wasn't new at all to the art of appropriation. His entire career is built on it!
On the debate if his work is controversial or just a way of expression I would think its a bit of both really. I think he may of started of his career as an artist as this being a way to express himself but eventually as he rised to popularity it may have slightly turned controversial. Being an artist and having that 'untouchable' status when it comes to your artwork is like invincibly. He can do what he wants and use appropriation on almost any artists other work. This tweet he made May 28, 2015 shows his controversial side.
The people in the photos he used had mixed feelings. Some okay with the idea and others completely outraged by it. He's been taking to court and sued - a lot. But somehow he finds ways to surpass the laws of copyright and get free from being sued - partially because of his riches (from what he's made off his appropriated artwork). You may be thinking right now "hey if this guy can do it, why can't anyone else?" Wouldn't that be amazing to make $100,000 off of someone else's photo? That's not the thing though, we all know anyone could do this but the thing is why would anyone by your work? Richard Prince's name is very well know across the artists universe and to own one of his pieces people would pay a lot of money - obviously! Yeah sure we can all be upset about this incident but as long as he isn't breaking any laws what really can be done?
I think I would be angry as an artist to know that someone was stealing my work and distorting it only a little bit and then making profit from it. What would especially make me angry is if someone used my work without asking any permission at all. Unfortunately there are people who do this, like Richard Prince. I feel like originality is pretty important when it comes to art. Everyone has their own originality within different styles of art. Like for example many people can create something within the style of abstract and all of them be different. This is one thing, but taking someones work that they worked so hard on and created is absolutely wrong.
I think I would be angry as an artist to know that someone was stealing my work and distorting it only a little bit and then making profit from it. What would especially make me angry is if someone used my work without asking any permission at all. Unfortunately there are people who do this, like Richard Prince. I feel like originality is pretty important when it comes to art. Everyone has their own originality within different styles of art. Like for example many people can create something within the style of abstract and all of them be different. This is one thing, but taking someones work that they worked so hard on and created is absolutely wrong.
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