PART 1: A little bit of history by curator @arminhoori.lens:
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.” The act of 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.
Many painters in the 19th century made allusions to past artists’ pieces or topics. For instance, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres produced Madame Moitessier’s portrait in 1856. The unusual posture was influenced by the renowned antique Roman artwork Herakles Finding His Son Telephas (early 2nd century BCE). As a result, the creator established a connection for both his subject as well as the Olympian goddess. Similarly, Vincent van Gogh can be identified by instances of works influenced by Delacroix, Jean Francois Millet, or Japanese images in his personal possession.
However, appropriation art as an art form may be traced back to Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso’s cubist assemblages and collages from 1912 onward, in which genuine things such as newsprint were used to symbolize themselves. Picasso placed a strip of oilcloth onto the painting in 1912. Following pieces, such as Guitar, Newspaper, Glass, and Bottle (1913), in which the artist utilized news clippings to build shapes, are examples of early assemblage that became associated with synthetic cubism.
The two painters included elements of the “actual world” into their paintings, provoking debate over the perceived significance and artistic expression.
- PART 2 (coming soon)