The Case for Copying | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios

Summary

This video explores the concept of art appropriation, examining how artists like Walker Evans and Sherri Levine use copying to challenge notions of originality and authenticity. It delves into the history of artistic imitation, the role of context in art, and the impact of mass media on visual representation, ultimately questioning the value of a signature in art.

Takeaways

• 📸 The script discusses the concept of copying in art, contrasting Walker Evans' original 1936 photographs with Sherri Levine's 1981 reproductions, emphasizing the difference between documentation and artistic expression.
• 🎨 It explores the prevalence of copying in modern art, questioning whether it signifies creative inadequacy or a commentary on an image-saturated world.
• 🤔 The script prompts the audience to consider how to distinguish between copying and the historical use of allusions, influences, and visual sampling in art.
• 🖼️ It highlights the tradition of artists copying each other for various reasons, such as training, innovation, or to signal influence, using Raphael, Velasquez, and Picasso as examples.
• 👤 The script describes how images are not neutral but instruments that influence our perception of ourselves and others, with Manet's 'Old Musician' serving as an example of a composite image with multiple citations.
• 🔍 The discussion introduces 'appropriation art' and its focus on representation, citing the 'Pictures Generation' artists who used existing images to explore the structures of signification.
• 🎭 The script mentions how pop art, with its use of mass media images, blurred the lines between art and commercial products, as exemplified by Andy Warhol's work.
• 🤝 It contrasts pop art's embrace by the art market with appropriation art's more critical relationship with popular imagery, aiming to understand the psychological impact of images.
• 🏆 The script challenges the notion of the 'original genius' through appropriation art, suggesting that the concept is a myth linked to societal power structures.
• 👉 It points out that copying in art is about making fresh meanings through interaction with existing signs and symbols, emphasizing the importance of context in understanding art.
• 🌐 Finally, the script reflects on the broader implications of copying, suggesting that it exposes the myth of originality and highlights the power dynamics that determine representation in society.

Q & A

What was the purpose of Walker Evans' photographs from 1936?

Walker Evans' photographs from 1936 were taken to document the American South during the Great Depression. He was hired by the Farm Security Administration for this purpose.

What is the significance of Sherri Levine's photographs in relation to Walker Evans' work?

Sherri Levine's photographs, taken in 1981, were reproductions of Walker Evans' photographs. They are part of a series titled 'After Walker Evans', raising questions about the nature of originality and the role of copying in art.

What is the role of copying in the history of art?

Copying has been a longstanding practice in art, used for training, demonstrating stylistic innovation, signaling influence, claiming prestige, or reworking subjects. It is not merely about imitation but also about engaging with existing imagery and traditions.

How did Raphael's portrait of Pope Julius II influence later artists?

Raphael's portrait of Pope Julius II served as a model for Velasquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X, which in turn inspired Francis Bacon to create over forty-five versions of his own, each reflecting the psychological depths of the subject.

What is the concept of 'appropriation art'?

Appropriation art is a movement where artists use existing images or cultural objects in their work. It foregrounds representation itself and explores how images inform our psyche and provide a basis for collective life.

What was the significance of the 'Pictures' exhibition curated by Donald Kuspit in 1977?

The 'Pictures' exhibition brought together artists interested in understanding the picture itself. It marked the emergence of the 'Pictures Generation', who plundered existing images for their own work, focusing on the structure of signification rather than sources or origins.

How did Cindy Sherman's work challenge traditional notions of portraiture?

Cindy Sherman's work involved photographing herself in poses and scenarios of generic feminine personas, challenging expectations and demonstrating how each portrait is influenced by our associations with other images and narratives.

What is the relationship between pop art and mass media?

Pop art, including works by artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, built upon the ubiquity of mass media images. It used images from pop culture and commercial products, reflecting and critiquing the pervasive influence of mass media.

How does appropriation art challenge the concept of artistic originality?

Appropriation art questions the value added by a signature and the authority of the artist over the meaning of a work. It suggests that the idea of the original genius is a myth and that the context and history of images are integral to their meaning.

What is the role of the art market in the reception of pop art and appropriation art?

The art market quickly embraced pop art as another luxury object, while appropriation art had a different relationship with popular imagery, focusing more on understanding the psyche and challenging the structures of power that determine what kinds of representation are made available in society.

How does the concept of 'the death of the author' relate to the discussion of copying in art?

The concept of 'the death of the author' suggests that the author has no particular authority over the meaning of a text or artwork. This idea is relevant to copying in art as it emphasizes the role of the viewer in interpreting the work and the web of connotations and cultural significance that a work exists within.

Outlines

00:00

📸 The Art of Copying: Reinterpretation and Influence

This paragraph discusses the concept of copying in art, using the works of Walker Evans and Sherri Levine as examples. Evans' photographs from the 1930s documented the American South during the Great Depression, while Levine's work from 1981 was based on reproductions of Evans' photographs. The paragraph explores the idea that copying in art is not new, but rather a long-standing practice where artists imitate each other to train, innovate, or signal influence. It delves into the history of art, referencing Raphael's portrait of Pope Julius II and its influence on Velasquez and later, Picasso. The discussion also touches on the notion of originality and the role of context in art, highlighting the work of modernist artists like Manet and Picasso, who used existing imagery to create new meanings. The paragraph concludes with the introduction of appropriation art, a movement that emerged in the late 1970s, focusing on the representation itself and questioning the structures of signification in art.

05:01

🎨 Pop Art and Appropriation: Challenging Originality

This paragraph examines the relationship between pop art and appropriation art, highlighting how artists like Andy Warhol and Richard Prince used mass media and advertising images in their work. It discusses the idea that these artists blurred the lines between art and commodity, challenging the traditional notions of originality and authorship. The paragraph also touches on the work of artists like Jack Goldstein and Darren Baum, who used appropriation to explore themes such as technology and sexual objectification. It further delves into the concept of the 'death of the author,' suggesting that the meaning of an artwork is not determined by the artist but by the reader's or viewer's experience. The discussion also includes the role of the art market in embracing pop art and the ways in which appropriation art challenges the institutions that rely on the idea of exceptionality and originality. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of context in understanding the meaning of art and how copying can reveal the myth of the original genius.

10:01

🌐 Art Assignment: Supporting Creative Expression

The final paragraph shifts focus to the Art Assignment, a platform funded by viewers through Patreon, allowing supporters to contribute to the creation of content they enjoy. It acknowledges the contributions of viewers and specific patrons, such as the Grand Master of the Arts Indianapolis Holmes Realty, and invites others to support the show through Patreon. This paragraph serves as a call to action, encouraging viewers to become active participants in the creation and continuation of the Art Assignment series.

Keywords

💡Walker Evans

Walker Evans was an American photographer known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression. His 1936 photographs are iconic and serve as indisputable historical documents of that era. In the video, Evans' work is contrasted with Sheree Levine's photographs, which are reproductions of Evans' work, raising questions about originality and the value of copying in art.

💡Sheree Levine

Sheree Levine is an artist known for her series titled 'After Walker Evans,' where she rephotographed images from Walker Evans' original work. Her approach challenges the notions of originality and authenticity in art, as she uses existing images to create new works, questioning the value of the artist's signature and the concept of authorship.

💡Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. In the context of the video, it is the historical backdrop against which Walker Evans' photographs were taken, showing the faces and conditions of the American South during this difficult time. The video uses this historical period to discuss how art can document and reflect societal conditions.

💡Appropriation Art

Appropriation Art is a movement in which artists use existing images or cultural artifacts in their work. The video discusses how this form of art challenges traditional notions of originality and creativity, focusing on how images inform our psyche and collective life. Examples given include Martha Rossler's work, which inserts photographs from the Vietnam War into scenes of American domestic life.

💡Mimesis

Mimesis is a term from classical aesthetics that refers to the imitation or representation of the visible world in art. The video mentions that early Western traditions defined art as mimesis, but artists also imitate each other's work, copying to train their hands or demonstrate stylistic innovation. This concept is used to discuss how artists learn and evolve through copying.

💡Pictures Generation

The Pictures Generation is a group of artists who emerged in the late 1970s and focused on understanding the picture itself. They used existing images in their work, directing attention towards the subtext and meanings derived from our associations with other pictures. The video cites artists like Jack Goldstein and Cindy Sherman as part of this generation, emphasizing their role in exploring representation and signification.

💡Pop Art

Pop Art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, characterized by the use of imagery from popular culture in art. The video discusses how artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein used mass-produced objects and media images in their work, blurring the line between art and commodity. This movement is contrasted with Appropriation Art in terms of its relationship with popular imagery.

💡Authorship

Authorship in the context of the video refers to the concept of an artist being the originator of a work. The video challenges this idea by discussing how artists like Sheree Levine and Sherrie Levine question the value added by a signature and the historical authorization of certain artists to create 'original' works.

💡Raphael

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect in the High Renaissance period. The video mentions his intimate portrait of Pope Julius II, which became a model for later artists like Velasquez and Francis Bacon. This example is used to illustrate how artists throughout history have copied and reworked the works of their predecessors.

💡Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher known for his work on the history of ideas, science, and literature. The video references his essay 'What is an Author?' to discuss how the concept of an author is an organizing principle that groups cultural objects together, rather than being a definitive source of a work's meaning. This challenges the traditional view of the artist as the sole creator of a work.

💡Context

Context in the video refers to the historical, cultural, and social background against which art is created and interpreted. The video emphasizes that the meaning of a work of art is not fixed but is influenced by its context, which is always changing. This concept is used to discuss how copies, no matter how perfect, are never the same as the original due to their different contexts.

Highlights

Walker Evans' 1936 photograph documented the American South during the Great Depression, serving as an iconic and indisputable historical record.

Sheree Levine's 1981 photograph is a reproduction of Evans' work, raising questions about the nature of originality and forgery in art.

The distinction between copying as creative inadequacy and as a form of artistic expression is explored in contemporary art.

Art history is filled with instances of visual sampling and allusions, predating modern concepts like hip hop's sonic sampling.

Copying in art has been a method for training, demonstrating innovation, signaling influence, and reworking subjects for contemporary contexts.

Raphael's portrait of Pope Julius II influenced Velasquez and later Francis Bacon, each adding their own psychological depth.

Picasso's reinterpretation of Velasquez's Las Meninas and Edouard Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe shows the evolution of artistic influence.

Mayonnaise's Old Musician is a composite image with numerous citations, challenging the notion of a painting as a single representation.

Appropriation art of the late 1970s, such as Donald Crimp's 'Pictures' exhibition, focused on the structure of signification in images.

Artists like Jack Goldstein and Darren Baum used appropriation to explore themes of anticipation, deferral, and sexual objectification in media.

Cindy Sherman's work challenges the predetermined narratives and expectations associated with gender and representation.

The concept of the 'flatbed picture plane' describes how paintings became surfaces for mass media images, reflecting our visual experience.

Andy Warhol's work in advertising influenced his choice of subjects, emphasizing the societal approval of images in art.

Richard Prince's work with copied advertising images questions the history and authorship associated with art.

Appropriation art challenges the institutions and structures that define originality and value in art.

Martha Rossler's work inserts war imagery into domestic scenes, highlighting the cognitive dissonance between the two.

The ready-made movement and appropriation art draw attention to the artist's role in assigning value through selection.

Appropriation art questions the value added by a signature and who has historically been authorized to sign works.

The myth of the original genius is critiqued through the concept that all creative works are built upon existing influences.

Appropriation art demonstrates that the context of images is integral to their meaning and that they exist within history.

Artists copying work shows the creation of fresh meanings through interaction with existing signs and symbols.

Transcripts

[Music]

this is a photograph by Walker Evans and

this is a photograph by Sheree Levine

Walker Evans photograph dates from 1936

when he was hired by the Farm Security

Administration to document the American

South in the wake of the Great

Depression Sherri Levine's was taken in

1981 from a reproduction of the Evans

photograph as part of a series titled

yes after Walker Evans credit where

credit is due but a forgery is not at

issue here

what is Evans photographs are iconic and

indisputable documents of a depression

they show us its face but what exactly

do Levine's photographs show us recent

art is full of copying of all kinds and

degrees art that borrows Steele's

pilfers or poaches existing images some

of them iconic others not are these

confessions of creative inadequacy bald

opportunism masquerading as concept are

these cries for help as we drown in an

image saturated world or the death

rattle of the great pictorial tradition

how are we supposed to distinguish this

kind of copying from a long history of

art full of allusions influences and

innumerable instances of visual sampling

long before hip hop spread the sonic

version of it coast to coast a sample

after all is just one part of a whole

song but what if the copy is the artwork

this is the case for copying artists of

course have been copying since time

immemorial in fact the earliest Western

traditions of aesthetic thought defined

art as mimesis or imitation of the

visible world but artists don't just

imitate the world they imitate each

other

copying in order to train their hands or

demonstrate stylistic innovation they

copy to signal the influence of other

artworks to claim the prestige of a

particular heritage or to rework a stock

artistic subject for their own time

working from existing imagery and

traditions can also suggest new ways to

navigate history Raphael's intimate

portrait of pope julius ii became a

model for Velasquez's portrait of Pope

Innocent the tenth which in turn

inspired Francis Bacon to make over

forty five versions of his own each

portrait transgressive in its own time

for how it exposed psychological depths

of the man at the seat of the church's

power Velasquez's Las Meninas was also

metabolized by Pablo Picasso who

additionally made numerous versions of

the déjeuner sur la painted by Edouard

in 1863 Monday's dejeuner in turn

borrowed its composition from a Raimondi

engraving of Raphael's judgment of Paris

and its subject from the concession

Petra but it's mayonnaise old musician

that establishes him as the modernist

Mixmaster though it might look like a

genre painting the old musician is in

fact a composite image with an

extravagant number of citations a

painted phrase as the art historian

Carol Armstrong called it that reads

after Watteau after myself and movie Oh

after linen and Velazquez and so on

mayonnaise painting is not a window onto

another reality but a cluster of

representations each one like a song

that can be sampled again and again

mayonnaise mashup moreover stares back

at us the old musician personifies the

way that all pictures so to speak regard

us images aren't just neutral depictions

of the world they're instruments

influencing how we perceive ourselves

and others DISA wareness inspired a

number of artists in the late 1970s to

make arts that foregrounded

representation itself our historians

refer to this work as appropriation art

in 1977 art critic Donald crimp curated

an exhibition titled pictures bringing

together artists who shared an interest

in understanding the picture itself

artists of the pictures generation as

they came to be called plundered

existing images for their own work Jack

Goldstein film metro-goldwyn-mayer loops

the familiar MGM lion's roar suspending

us between the pleasure of anticipation

and the frustrating deferral of the

feature film Darren Baum's technology

transformation Wonderwoman fragments and

repeats clips from the TV series to draw

out the relationship between technology

and sexual objectification by isolating

and manipulating images these artists

direct our attention toward their

subtext and demonstrate how they get

their meanings not through our actual

experience with lions or superheroes but

through our associations with other

pictures like them in our series of film

skills Cindy Sherman photographed

herself in the poses and scenarios of

generic feminine personas that evoked

stalked narratives so that each version

of Sherman's seems over determined from

the start by our expectations for her as

crimp wrote we are not in search of

sources or origins but of structures of

signification underneath each picture

there is always another picture these

artists certainly weren't the first to

use images from pop culture the aptly

named pop art movement built upon the

work of artists including Jasper Johns

and Robert Rauschenberg who made bronze

casts of mass-produced objects or

incorporated news prints and rubbish

into their work art historian Leo

Steinberg described this work as

belonging to the flatbed picture plane

borrowing the term from the flatbed

printing press that had flooded the

post-war world with mass media images a

Steinberg sought paintings were no

longer doorways to imaginary world Avoca

our visual experience

they were like tabletops strewn with

papers and objects to simulated how we

look at pictures in newspapers and

magazines not incidentally Andy Warhol

began his career in advertising war I'll

explain that he chose the subjects of

his paintings from commercial products

to celebrities precisely because

everyone already liked them the artists

job so Warhol claimed was not to offer

up new images of beauty but to reproduce

what society had already approved this

authorized him to appropriate images of

mass-produced objects and to turn them

out in the studio he called the factory

blurring the distinctions between artist

and factory worker and between commodity

and art in more recent years Richard

Prince who may sit atop the high throne

of copied M described his interest in

copying this way advertising images

aren't associated with an author they

look like they have no history to them

like they showed up all at once they

look like what art always wants to look

like yet of course Prince Warhol and

other pop artists certainly didn't fade

into the woodwork on the contrary a

Campbell Soup can is almost synonymous

with the name Warhol a single blown up

cartoon frame with Roy Lichtenstein pop

art held up a mirror to ubiquity of mass

media but a mirror is often the weakest

form of critique after all that other

thing that looks like it showed up all

at once without history that's the

mass-produced commodity perhaps it's no

surprise then that the art market

quickly embraced pop art is one more

luxury object appropriation art on the

other hand had a very different

relationship to popular imagery more

like certain strands of Dada and

surrealism appropriation art sought to

understand how images around us inform

our psyche and provide a basis for

collective life Martha rossler's House

Beautiful bringing the war home used a

technique similar to surrealist

inserting photographs from the Vietnam

War into scenes of American domestic

life both sets of images were taken from

copies of life Rossler just reassembled

what was already bound together in the

magazine and what only a serious

threshold for cognitive dissonance holds

apart appropriation aren't also

hearkened back to the ready-made by

highlighting how an artist gesture of

selection could confirm value on the

most mundane object like the ready-made

appropriation drew attention to the

institutions whose operations depend on

ideas of exceptionality and originality

even and especially in the face of total

on originality appropriations by

Sturdevant who made perfect copies of

artist's work in the case of Warhol

actually borrowing his silk streams to

get the job done as well as those by

Shari Levine compel viewers to question

just what kind of value is added by a

signature and more importantly what

kinds of people have historically been

authorized to sign works in the first

place

hint hint they be usually looked more

like Walker Evans and Duchamp than Shari

Levine our Sturdivant indeed countless

creative achievements in our museums are

considered anonymous many of them seized

from regions and social groups that have

been denied recognition and

representation this is to say nothing of

conventionally unethical chiral

contributions from quilts to recipes to

folk or blues songs in his essay the

death of the author the theorist roland

bart argued that writing contains many

layers of association that can only be

unified in the readers experience of a

text this meant that the author had no

particular authority over the meaning of

a book because anything she wrote

existed in a web of connotations and

cultural significance to interpret a

book or an artwork was therefore not to

decode it or to identify its definitive

meaning but to demonstrate how it

functioned in this web of significance

Michel Foucault followed with his essay

what is an author which argued that an

author is actually just an organizing

principle that allows us to group

together a certain number of cultural

objects more importantly it clarifies

who did not make the work impeding

rather than helping along the free

circulation and inventiveness of

creative output no less of a paradigm

for the artistic genius than Pablo

Picasso once said good artists borrow

great artists steal this is often taken

to mean that great artists transform

their influences into their own

authentic and original inventions but

appropriation art turns this meaning on

a pad appropriation art asks us to

recognize that so-called great artists

managed to convince us that their works

are authentic and original because

society has already given them the power

to be authentic and original for reasons

that have little to do with genius and a

lot to do with the structures of power

that concerned Foucault yes there are

people who have done amazing things and

gotten credit for it and we're grateful

for their work but copying shows that

the idea of the original originating

genius is a myth it shows that this myth

is linked to the power of images

themselves to determine what kinds of

representation visual as well as

political are made available in our

societies appropriation art well

sometimes confounding and often

contested helps us see that the context

of pictures is absolutely integral to

their meaning it reminds us that

pictures don't just have histories they

exist in history a copy no matter how

perfect is never really the same as the

original since its context is always

shifting and since we exist in history

our perspective is always shifting to

when artists copy we recognize that

they're making fresh meanings through

their interaction with signs and symbols

and bits of information already out in

the world and that this work is never

done not for them and not for us the art

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assignment

[Music]