Art Appropriations (Postmodernism)

[The Mac Attack]

[I]Sigh...this is the second time I've had to write this. I'd just finished writing a long message the first time and then my computer froze. Oh well, I'll try to give you the gist of it:[/I]

Through my studies of visual arts in High School I became quite interested in Postmodernism. One particular characteristic of postmodernism is to appropriate: using (or being inspired by) an existing image and then adjusting it to become your own.

One of my favourite pieces was Yasumasa Morimura's "Monna in the Third Place" (below). Here he decomposes and appropriates a popular image of beauty and reverses the traditional icon and themes.

[img]http://www.studiolo.org/Mona/ images/MORI25a.jpg[/img]
EDIT: If you can't see the image above go to [url]www.studiolo.org/Mona/[/url] images/MORI25a.jpg using your browser.

I enjoy appropriations myself as they allow me to "rip off" or poke fun at an artist, subject matter or style. In my recent body of work (currently in exhibition) I attacked "fake emotion" in art. The work uses stereotypical imagery and expression to parody the lack of depth many contemporary artists hold in their works.

I've currently been working on a few appropriations in designing a new banner for myself (I get bored with any particular one quite quickly). "Microsoft Excel Saga" is one (although I've never seen Excel Saga) as well as a Fungry's banner (from CNNNN).

I've made a "rip off" version of the otaku boards main image (attached) as well. Here I replaced the character with my own (the character present in all my banners) and decided to use the textual space at the right to list some of my favourite animes.

I'd be very interested to know what people think about appropriations and postmodern art in general.

[Baron Samedi]

Haha. Good stuff Mac. As I mentioned before, i don't really know much about this stuff, however I really like the principle behind the work. It allows people to associate with the image, yet at the same time, draw something new from the alterations... now, down to your banner.

Very good. Nice cropping, perfect text match [what font is it?]. It looks good, funky and very suitable. It shows us something we can relate to, yet at the same time, we draw something new from the altered image. Good stuff,

7/10 Aesthetics
6.5/10 technical.

[The Mac Attack]

[quote]It allows people to associate with the image, yet at the same time, draw something new from the alterations[/quote]

Exactly! That's what appropriations are all about: creating something new based on the association to the original.

The text font for the background "Mac Attack"/"OtakuBoards" was Century Gothic with a bold emphasis and without any anti-aliasing. I wasn't exactly the same, but it did the job. The text at the side was extracted from the original character-by-character, except for "v" and "w". These were alterations of the characters "u" and "m" respectively.

What do you think of the ethical implications of appropriations? Do you believe it's okay to use other people's art as your own?