Monday, November 23, 2009

Appropriate Appropriation


"In the visual arts, to appropriate means to adopt, borrow, recycle or sample aspects (or the entire form) of man-made visual culture. The term appropriation refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work (as in 'the artist uses appropriation') or refers to the new work itself (as in 'this is a piece of appropriation art'). The artist who uses appropriation may borrow image, sound, objects, forms or styles from art history or popular culture or other aspects of man made visual culture. Inherent in the process of appropriation is the fact that the new work recontextualizes whatever it borrows to create the new work. In most cases the original 'thing' remains accessible as the original, without change."
- Wikipedia 


An investigation of art-making tools is an increasingly important part of my studio practice. Since much of my work relies upon established visual/ physical products (combs, urban fiction, magazine imagery, wig displays, retail posters, etc.), I am compelled to question the boundaries of appropriation. In other words, how do I  maintain a level of recognition of the source material, while creating unique expression?  I am sure there are an infinite number of answers to this question, here's to discovering my personal artistic boundaries.  Below you'll find a number of LINKS that speak to the question at the heart of this investigation- it's a hodge podge of selections that are worthwhile additions to my creative vocabulary.

"...features work by a variety of artists who work with bits and pieces of their media environments, giving something back to the cultural landscape from which they so enthusiastically appropriate.  The genre is young, despite examples dating as far back as 1961, when James Tenney constructed a tape collage borrowing heavily from cut-up fragments of a recording by Elvis Presley. Both provocative and surreal, this style continues to evolve and to challenge."

"...suggests artists, artworks, and exhibitions based on the art you love."

"This is a personal blog, not a Google blog. It is about my book Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars, published by Oxford University Press. Please don't attribute anything in the blog or the book to Google, which employs me." 

Appropriation Artist Makes Paintings Out Of WSJ Stipple Images... Pisses Off Stipple Artist 

Creative Commons
"Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright.  We provide free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof."















On a final note, I have decided that imagery is not the only thing that can be appropriated.  Space is up for grabs as well.  In fact, two of my latest works (Lifting Box and Fortress of Solitude) feature the elevators at 77 Water Street as appropriated installation pieces.  To view: contact me at kenya.robinson@gmail.com






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