ap·pro·pri·ate
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt\
1 : to take exclusive possession of 2 : to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use 3 : to take or make use of without authority or right
I have had such fear of being seen as unoriginal that I have shied away from things that I have a genuine interest in documenting visually. My idea was this week to show some of my favorite artists doing just the thing that I fear to do.
The first and best example of appropriation has to be Roy Lichtenstein. He is the king of comic book art as fine art. The reason I chose this image is because I have done many pieces with Converse sneakers (one of my many obsessions) and have never seen this painting before. It just goes to show, you can be derivative without even realizing it.
Keith Haring has been a favorite of mine for a long time. His work is very minimal and also quite derivative of comic book art. He started out as a graffiti artist which makes this piece interesting to me. It definitely borrows themes from ancient Egypt, some of the original graffiti artists. Those guys really knew how to decorate a wall!
Lastly, I had to talk about Pablo Picasso. Definitely the most famous of the three artists I am discussing. Partially because he has done the most work, but also because he has the oldest work. The picture on the left shows a painting based on the famous story of Don Quixote. Like many artists he has taken a story and brought it to life with his images.
Basically, the point of this was to convince myself that it is OK to use what you know. Not everything can be 100% original, in fact it is impossible to not have the things around you inspire the art on the page.
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt\
1 : to take exclusive possession of 2 : to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use 3 : to take or make use of without authority or right
I have had such fear of being seen as unoriginal that I have shied away from things that I have a genuine interest in documenting visually. My idea was this week to show some of my favorite artists doing just the thing that I fear to do.
The first and best example of appropriation has to be Roy Lichtenstein. He is the king of comic book art as fine art. The reason I chose this image is because I have done many pieces with Converse sneakers (one of my many obsessions) and have never seen this painting before. It just goes to show, you can be derivative without even realizing it.
Keith Haring has been a favorite of mine for a long time. His work is very minimal and also quite derivative of comic book art. He started out as a graffiti artist which makes this piece interesting to me. It definitely borrows themes from ancient Egypt, some of the original graffiti artists. Those guys really knew how to decorate a wall!
Lastly, I had to talk about Pablo Picasso. Definitely the most famous of the three artists I am discussing. Partially because he has done the most work, but also because he has the oldest work. The picture on the left shows a painting based on the famous story of Don Quixote. Like many artists he has taken a story and brought it to life with his images.
Basically, the point of this was to convince myself that it is OK to use what you know. Not everything can be 100% original, in fact it is impossible to not have the things around you inspire the art on the page.
