Hmmm… I wouldn’t go so far as to say
Richard Prince is genius. But I do believe he is stirring the art world by
pushing boundaries, and for that, I admire him. From what I’ve seen of his
work, he really is just trying to see what he can get away with to make a
point. It’s honestly quite exciting. In regards to his Instagram Paintings, I
find them to be one of the best trolls of the decade. It’s almost a wake-up
call to society. No, those images you post on social media don’t actually
belong to you; so don’t be surprised if an artist features your latest selfie
in an art show. As a response to Johnson’s article “Richard Prince Sucks”, I
don’t find the Instagram images sexist, but rather a commentary. They play on
an extreme to amplify the sexism that exists within our culture.
For my own views on appropriation, I
think it’s hard to establish a clear definition between what’s Fair Use and
what’s not. I find it wonderful to live in a time where we can share artistic
ideas and grow from different perspectives on any given piece of art. At the
same time, I don’t think it’s cool to take someone else’s work, change
something as small as the lighting, and call it your own. In the dance world,
that would be a no-go. There’s a difference between sharing and exploring
concepts/ movements and completely trying to pass off someone else’s work as
your own. Intellectual property is something worth protecting. So in my book,
if there is some sort of acknowledgement of the original creator or a
discussion between the two artists, appropriation is okay.
And now we come back to money,
because everything always does. Would copyrighting be such an ordeal if it were
not because of money? No. The answer is no. I mean, part of it is the right to
intellectual property, but most of it is jealousy. In the case of Prince and
Cariou, Cariou obviously was frustrated at the amount of money Prince was
making. Heck, I would be too. Especially because of the way Prince
appropriates- it’s like he is purposefully trying to push buttons.
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