OUGD505 - Design Practice 02 - Appropriation Lecture

APPROPRIATION

Images from mass-culture can be recontextualised in design in many different ways. Some artists use mass culture in the form of everyday objects such as a urinal or a polaroid picture of the Mona Lisa and repurpose them into fine art, taking common ephemera from a gallery and repurposing it for their own needs. 

In these situations it always brings up the questionwWho owns copyright?

Appropriation in fine art: 

 - Questions authorship and authenticity

- Questions what art is or can be

- Investigates the process and making

- Questions the value and meaning of mass culture. 

Tracy Ma zine uses collage and found images in this zine to explore the theme of power. 

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION 

When western societies use particular symbols or icons of distinct cultures, religions, and races for personal use eg. as a fashion statement. In these instances the users have no real appreciation of the original culture and can be accused of White washing the styles.

Sanaa Hamid, 2013, explores cultural appropriation through a series of photographs and quotes. It is a very powerful and moving project that clearly highlights the issues of cultural appropriation in today's society. 

PARODY ( A copy to poke fun / mock / draw parallels with something that has been done before) 

Banksy, 'Kate' - comment on celebrity, how this icon/template can be composed in contemporary culture. Kate Moss is the 2000's version of Marylin Monroe. 

PARODY

noun

1.
an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
"the film is a parody of the horror genre"

verb

1.
produce a humorously exaggerated imitation of (a writer, artist, or genre).
"his specialty was parodying schoolgirl fiction"

PASTICHE (A straight up copy that causes the original version to lose it's meaning) 

Stranger things - directly lifted typeface from Stephen King novels. 

PASTICHE

noun

1.
an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.
"the operetta is a pastiche of 18th century style"

"the operetta is a pastiche of 18th century style"

verb

1.
imitate the style of (an artist or work).
"Gauguin took himself to a Pacific island and pastiched the primitive art he found there"


TASK

Using the resources available in the studio produce a collage that is informed by the current exploration of appropriation, subversion and parody. Consider carefully how meanings can be changed, skewed or re-contextualised using these techniques.
I took inspiration from the burn book in the 2004 cult movie classic, Mean Girls and did a cross between a parody and pastiche by reinventing it with old women.