Art Appropriation

Prof. ACL
Objectives
• Define what appropriation in
art;
• Explain the intent of
appropriation art;
• Create a photo appropriation of
an original work.
 Copying art to Convey a New Message
By Beth Gersh-Nesic

To “appropriate” is to take
possession of something.
Appropriation artists deliberately
copy images to take possession
of them in their art.
What Is Art Appropriation?

The premise is that the current piece

recontextualizes whatever it borrows imagery
from, and this makes the creation fresh –
which is a fundamental aspect to grasp in our
comprehension of appropriation photography
and art. In most circumstances, the original
“object” remains available in its original form.
What Is Art Appropriation?

Artistic appropriation, like found object art, is

defined as “the purposeful copying,
borrowing, and altering of previous imagery,
objects, and concepts as an aesthetic method.”
What Is Art Appropriation?

Appropriation art has also been characterized

as “the incorporation of a physical entity or
perhaps an extant artwork into a new work of
art.” Appropriation in art highlights issues of
uniqueness, legitimacy, and ownership, and is
part of the lengthy modernist heritage of art
that calls into question the essence or meaning
of art itself.
What‘s the intent of
Appropriation art?
a. Appropriation artists want the viewers
to recognize the images they copy.
They hope that the will bring all of his
original associations with the image to
the artist’s new context, be it a
painting, a sculpture, a collage, a
combine or an entire installation.
b. Images and elements of culture
that have been appropriated
commonly involve famous and
recognizable works of art, well
known literature, and easily
accessible images from the media.
c. In separating images from the original
context of their own media, artists are
able to take on new and varied
meanings. The process and nature of
appropriation has considered by
anthropologists as part of the study
of cultural change and cross-cultural
contact.
The History of Appropriation in Art

2.1 Early 20th Century

2.2 Realism and Pop Art (1950 – 1960)
2.3 Neo-Pop and the Pictures Generation
(1970 – 1980)
2.4 The 1990s
2.5 21st Century
2.6 Art Appropriation in the Digital Age
The History of Appropriation in Art

A. Early 20th Century

• Georges Braque and
Pablo Picasso
• Marcel Duchamp
- Readymade
- Fountain

Marcel Duchamp Fountain, 1917,

photograph by Alfred Stieglitz at 291 art
gallery following the 1917 Society of
Independent Artists exhibit, with entry tag
visible.
Madame Moitessier (1856) by Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, located in
the National Gallery in London; Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Public
domain, via Wikimedia Commons
 The History of Appropriation in Art
B. Realism and Pop Art
(1950 – 1960)
• Robert Rauschenberg
- Combines
• Jasper Johns
• Andy Warhol
- Campbell Soap cans Campbell's Soup Cans is a work of art produced
• Claes Oldenbur between November 1961 and March or April 1962 by
American artist Andy Warhol.
 The History of Appropriation in Art

Realism and Pop Art

(1950 – 1960s)
• Roy Lichtenstein
- Drowning Girl (1963)
 The History of Appropriation in Art
C. Neo-Pop and the
Pictures Generation
(1970 – 1980)
• semiotic forms of
representation
• Sherrie Levine Tulips (1994) by Jeff Koons,
exhibited outside the Guggenheim
• Jeff Koons Museum Bilbao in Spain; More pics
than views…, CC BY 3.0, via
Wikimedia Commons
 Left: Jim Krantz; Right: Richard Prince
Here Prince has re-photographed and re-proportioned an image from an
advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes
 The History of Appropriation in Art

D. The 1990s
• Damian Loeb - film
and
cinematography to
speak on topics of
realism
Sherrie Levine’s homage to Marcel
Duchamp’s Fountain, titled Fountain
(Buddha) (1996); Hesperian Nguyen, CC
BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
 The History of Appropriation in Art

E. 21st Century
• Zevs
• Banksy

Photograph of Banksy’s Well Hung Lover (2006)

mural, spray painted in England; Photographed by
Richard Cocks, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia
Banksy’s Girl with a Pierced Eardrum Commons
The History of Appropriation in Art
F. Art Appropriation in the Digital Age
- “Archeologists of the moment”
- “remix generation”
Method how to appropriation in art is used.
 Examples of Appropriation in Art
• Kathleen Gilje’s’ “Bacchus, Restored” (1992)
• Fountain (1917) by Marcel Duchamp
(https://youtu.be/NSKxJc_J0No)
• Campbell’s Soup Cans (1968) by Andy Warhol
(https://youtu.be/BuLJKZscBJM)
• After Walker Evans (1981) by Sherrie Levine
(https://youtu.be/6dIQW4DRrp8)
• Arranged by Barbara and Eugene Schwartz (1982) by Louise
Lawler (https://youtu.be/hbrrrnXu4GI)
• We Don’t Need Another Hero (1986) by Barbara Kruger
(https://youtu.be/IJ3WIZeBRZg)
• Hymn (1999) by Damien Hirst (https://youtu.be/xhLTZ6IxJaQ)
• A Belgian Politician (2011) by Luc Tuymans
(https://youtu.be/2G1c9mWBRqE)
 Caravaggio’s
“Bacchus” (1595)

Kathleen Gilje’s’ “Bacchus, Restored” (1992)

Small Torn Campbell's Soup Can (pepper
pot) Andy Warhol, 1962
Reference:

Solmerano, Ernesto Thaddeus M. (2019) Art

Appreciation. Books Atbp. Publishing Corp, p149-
158 (Lesson 11).

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1661/app
ropriation-in-contemporary-art

https://artincontext.org/appropriation-in-art/
(retrieved October 10, 2022)