ART

APPROPRIATION
CHAPTER 7
Appropriate
To copy or borrow the idea
Appropriation in arts is a practice of creating or borrowing idea from
pre-existing words, images, or objects, advertisements or media then
modify, transform or combine this with new ideas
Appropriation in arts is not new, this is already a common practice
 In the past, when a novice wants to improve and sharpen his skills,
the teacher or master permits him to replicate his masterpiece
 Now a days, we can use internet applications to appropriate some
pictures or images
 Appropriation art that is properly used play significant role
 Original arts without changes may serve as inspiration to new artist
to generate new arts
 Demarcation line between art appropriation and forgery is very thin
 Forgery in arts can be done by putting together various essentials
of an Obra Maestra and infused them to a new one
 This is the reason why art appropriations are often questioned
 Photocopying and replicating original works is plagiarism
 However, today artist appropriate and transform work of art to
various degree depending on the theme and intentions
In fine arts three forms of narrative
appropriations are use
a. Reproduction
 is the copied, simulated or
imitated reproduction of the
original work and normally done
through photographic or digital
process
b. Transfiguration
is a process where the artist
transformed the image or art to
fit on the perspective or theme
he is designing, but the original
work of art is still identifiable

Lady with an Ermine

By Leonardo da Vinci

Art Appropriation during Covid 19

c. Stylization is a manner where an
artist copies the method or strategies
employed by some other artist but
not necessarily the artwork
One of the most controversial issues in art appropriation is cultural
appropriation
Cultural appropriation
behavior towards other culture and beliefs
stealing an identity from another culture and using it as your own
without recognizing the meaning and true value behind it
Examples of Cultural Appropriation
Many non-Aboriginal artists copied and sold pieces of Aboriginal
artwork, claiming the copies were authentic
Wearing headdress, kimonos, and facets of other cultures as
costumes is a form of cultural appropriation since these styles often
have significance in other cultures and are worn for specific
occasions
Five Acts of Cultural Appropriations
1. Object Appropriation
Marcel Duchmap’s “Bicycle Wheel” piece in
1913, where he combined a wheel and a stool to
create a piece of art.
This artwork is part of the “Readymades” a
group of his artwork that were created with
mass-produced object, taken from their original
purpose, and created into an art
2. Context Appropriation
The Katy Perry’s performance
incorporating the East-Asian
cultural imagery into a “geisha
themed”
3. Style appropriation
This appropriation shows African
cultural designs to create art in
their fashions.
4. Motif Appropriation
Paisley used as textile design utilized as clothing, beddings, or even
handkerchief now a days was once used in Persia as Holy Symbol
5. Subject Appropriation
This paining borrows the narrative and composition from the
infamous Les Demoiselles d’Avginon by Picasso where Colescott
has developed Picasso’s abstraction and ‘Africanism’ in line with
European influences.
Colescott has mades this famous image using his own terms of
color, and content, while still making his inspiration clear