Every artists. This recent experience raised questions

Every year, fall in New York Citysignifies a blooming of art shows, openings, and open studios. Wanderingthrough the galleries and studios early in fall, I could not help but wonderabout appropriation. With the overlapping mediums and platforms of art, most ofthe displayed works felt familiar, reminding me of someone else’s work. I oftenfound that the when browsing through the works were made by different artists,although the ideas and artworks were visually different from one another, theirapproaches reminded me of certain artists. This recent experience raised questionsfor me: What classifies a work of art as plagiarism or appropriation? Inmy conversation with an established artist on the topic, he told me, “Steal it—don’t borrow it.Make it your own”. How does one steal it, though? Moreover, how is borrowing classified? To answer these questions, I addressissues related to advocacy in adaptation, as plagiarism has always been anissue in the art world (especially in graphic design) and as the line between plagiarismand appropriation has always been a blurred one.

Still, it is unclear if this conflictbetween appropriation and plagiarism is more of an issue today than in the past.If so, I would argue that growing acknowledgement of authorship and copyrightwould be the cause. Proper adaptation, including the crediting of sources,could be the solution to the issue. Artlyst on December 2016 article definesappropriation as the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or notransformation applied to them and explains that inherent in our understanding of appropriation is theconcept that new work re-contextualizes whatever it borrowed to create thatwork. However, in the art world, the word inspiration is haphazardly used as an excuse for appropriating anotherperson’s artwork. I wonder if appropriationis  meant as another word forinspiration.To clarify, I am not arguingthat shared methods and common techniques are acts of hijacking an idea.

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

Artists who work in visual media have always built on a tradition ofappropriation: painters can speak of the language of painting because of commontechniques or materials (Mullin, 2009, p. 105), and countless artists usevideos and sound platforms as art. In the past, when art was made under thetradition of the apprentice system, apprentices learned by copying (replicatingor remastering) techniques and following the steps of a master. However, in anage when every artwork seems to be a variation of a work by someone else in theworld, it is not clear what makes an artist the author of an artwork? In theart world, some of today’s most famous and renowned artists, such as Jeff Koonsand Richard Prince, have based their artwork on remaking (appropriating)existing works, and as a result, they have gone through numerous lawsuits withthe authors of those pieces. Creativity and originality are among the keyvalues of art and art education, but at the same time, some argue thatimitation and replication are also efficient, instinctive ways to learn.

Isimitation an efficient, instinctive way to learn without thinking? When itcomes to art, students are often taught that copying is unethical behavior,yet, in the educational context, it is inarguable that better understanding canbe achieved through imitation and replication of others’ work. In the documentary film Copyright Criminals, the directorBenjamin Franzen (2009) interviewed someone who stated that only lazy peoplewho have nothing to say let themselves be inspired by the past in this way. Perhapsto state that all appropriation is no different from plagiarism is an overgeneralization,but it is inarguable that appropriation is essentially unethical unless an artistis following the appropriation art norm: practicing intentional appropriationas a form of art.

Given that plagiarism (using someone’s work without givinghim or her credit) is the moral issue at hand, I wouldargue that adaptationis the answer as adaptation, according to Julie Sanders (2006) is “casting a specific genre into anothergenere’s mode—is an act of revision in itself” (p.18). Properappropriation should be considered adaptation, as this involves taking theoriginal idea and improves, internalizes, or materializes it—essentially makingthe work one’s own.

x

Hi!
I'm Mary!

Would you like to get a custom essay? How about receiving a customized one?

Check it out