What is appropriation?

I think one of the most important things, and one of the first things we need to look at for our research is the true definition of appropriation. Everyone has their own opinion of what they believe appropriation to be, but by defining it in the correct way could really help with the understanding of the task in hand.

The definition of appropriation

In terms of the "visual arts" appropriate means adopt, borrow, recycle or sample aspects (or the entire form) of man-made visual culture. Strategies include "re-vision, re-evaluation, variation, version, interpretation, imitation, proximation, supplement, increment, improvisation, prequel... pastiche, paraphrase, parody, forgery, homage, mimicry, travesty, shan-zhai, echo, allusion, intertextuality and karaoke."  The term appropriation refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work.

The history of appropriation

The use of image appropriation in art has been around for a long time, and many people say that artists such as Leonardo de Vinci used the style of appropriation in their work. Both Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were one of the next artists to include the style in their paintings, and since then many other artists have started appropriating images also. Some of these artists include Vikky Alexander, Luke Sullivan, Felipe Jesus Consalvos, Mark Divo, Benjamin Edwards, Damien Loeb and Robert Rauschenberg.
Appropriation artists comment on all aspects of culture and society. Artists working today increasingly incorporate and quote from both art and non-art elements. In the 1990s artists continued to produce appropriation art, using it as a medium to address theories and social issues, rather than focussing on the works themselves.


Examples of appropriated images

Pablo Picasso 

The Mona Lisa 

Marilyn Monroe

Campbell's tomato soup

-Beth-