Contemporary Art 101: Appropriation

10.30.2008: Contemporary Art 101: Appropriation 6:00 pm
Does painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa create a new masterpiece? How is a photograph of a Marlboro ad different from the original Marlboro ad? Chief Curator Anthony Huberman leads a conversation about art and appropriation, mass-media images, plagiarism, and the idea of originality and authorship.

I rather enjoyed this lecture at the Contemporary, for all that it was not the philosophical debate or exploration into the ethical ramifications of appropriation I had hoped it would be. (No claim was made in this regard - I was just being hopeful as that interests me and I would like to learn others' views on the matter.) I was previously familiar with some of the pieces shown in the slide show, but by examining all of them together in the context of the current work by Lutz Bacher, I have gained a greater appreciation of the current exhibition. And there were some hidden gems with which I was previously unfamiliar, like the Who's Afraid of Jasper Johns? show at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in which the new show (including many artists known for appropriation) was installed atop wallpaper of the previous exhibition.