Appropriation and its Role in the Art World

To appropriate something, means to take possession of something that previously belonged to someone else. Commonly seen in art through borrowing, copying, and alteration of preexisting images and objects. Artists who do this are fully aware that the artwork initially belongs to someone else but his goal is never to claim ownership of the design but to rather present it in a new way. Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman, and Roy Lichtenstein are famous appropriation artists who commonly used everyday objects to draw attention to things that the everyday person could recognize. Tom Wesslemann's "Still Life #35" for example, features common products that the everyday family of the 60s, would be able to identify such as Cola, White Bread, and Beef Stew. This kind of art serves to grab everyone's attention to objects that are usually overlooked. Andy Warhol is one of the most famous appropriation artists and is noted mostly for his Campbell soup cans. He silk-screened a series of soup cans to grab the public attention and direct it towards the incredibly common, Campbell soup can. Although its publicity earned Warhol a law-suit, it also provided free advertisement for the company. Appropriation wants to take a previous design and grab attention to it by presenting the idea in a new way.

When Doors Meet Jewelry

For my final sketchbook challenge piece, I have decided on creating a necklace out of old brass keys, chain, and ribbon. It will be constructed in a staggered way so at the point of the necklace there will be one key, then that will turn into two keys, then three keys and so forth; like a reverse pyramid. The keys will be attached to the chain with a ribbon but every other key will have a different colored ribbon tied into a bow. I'm hoping to achieve a slight Alice in Wonderland feel with the bows and antique style of it. I decided on this idea because I wanted to do a fashion design type project, but due to time restraints I can't do as ambitious a project as a full on dress with accessories. By doing a necklace I can tie in the keys used in one of my sketches and mix it with the Alice in Wonderland theme. At the moment the keys are laid out and construction has begun. I'm hoping to have this project completed within the next day or two.

The Future

What will become of...?what will happen...? Will I be...? The list goes on for questions that attempt to answer the future. The reason the future is perceived as such an important essence is because there's some distorted idea that the future is equivalent to ones purpose and destiny. Ones destiny is the entirety of life from beginning to end, bad decision to good decision. All that can ever be done to answer questions of the future is to imagine it. Imagine the goals that go with the future, emotions that will accompany it,the kinds of people that will always play a role, or go even more abstract and imagine what society will become. Its this kind of thinking that creates a special kind of art. The art ranges from literature like "V for Vendetta" and "A Clockwork Orange" to pieces of art like "Garden of Earthly delights" by Bosch. It creates a form of realistic fantasy; something not real but with amazing potential to be real. Nobody knows what the future holds, but it's this kind of art that provides potential answers.

Depression, Torture, and Anger

All three are emotions with the potential to destroy the human heart and consciousness however, they also have potential to create some of the most beautiful art. The reasoning behind this is simple; anyone can fake happiness but only the truly talented can demonstrate pain in its most raw form. The easiest way to represent pain is if one has already experienced great pain, rather it be the loss of a loved one or an impossible obstacle like a life threatening disease, etc.When gazing upon art that represents pain the viewers is sometimes struck with a sense of personal, inexplicable loss. Everyone is happy for at least some part of their life, but pure pain and suffering isn't part of everyone's life. Granted, everyone still faces sadness and loss but real suffering is reserved for those who were either brave enough our unlucky enough to be confronted with it. And that is why art that shows such a strong emotion has such an overwhelming effect on the viewer; its something he or she has not yet (and maybe never will) face.

The other side

Doors are part of everyone's life. we all open them daily but in the process of doing so we never stop to consider "what if this door leads somewhere new today"  or when stumbling onto a new door, most people don't consider the possibility of wonderland on the other side. The project I am currently working on is doors and the hints they give to tell you what's actually on the other side.  None of my doors hint at normality; there are demons and angels, vampire vibes, and of course multiple doors that find their way to wonderland. Who's to say that a door should lead to a supply closet or a house? Doors represent the unknown, all we can ever do is guess as to what's actually on the other side. Most of the time we only just rely on our memory to the last time we opened that door unless it's a door you can see through. This brings me to the disconnected piece out of my ten sketches I did for this; What happens behind closed doors? This sketch is of french windows with sheer curtains drawn and all the viewer can see is the silhouette of the couple. This sketch hints at what's behind the door but leaves the whole story to the viewers imagination. So all doors demonstrate the unknown, and I want the unknown to be something fantastical.

Art for Life

Yes, art has been known to stand the test of time but the form of art I'm referring to is the kind that stays with you until death... Tattoos. Whether it has a meaning or is just nice to look at, its not hard to find a person with a tattoo. It doesn't matter whether one approves of them or not, the tattoo is quite quickly becoming part of  the American culture. Its a way for everyone to connect to art; one can find an artist, a jock, a business, any kind of person with a tattoo. Why us this so? It's a form of art that both represents the artist and the person who is wearing it. If you want wings you can have it, if you want wonderland to exist you can carry it with you forever, tattoos are supposed to be with the wearer for ever so there are no boundaries and nothing that imagination can't stop.

Thoughts on Face Hunter

FaceHunter is a fashion blog started by Yvan Rodic in Paris in February 2006. He was a natural born fashion photographer with his eye for trends and his habitual talent of photography. Today he is considered to one of the most influential men involved with the fashion industry. When he first started people loved his democratic views on fashion, and pretty soon he was traveling world-wide to such places as London, New York, Berlin, Stockholm, Geneva, Zurich, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Oslo, Gdansk, and many others.
While he may be a street style connoisseur, he is much more than that. He is a traveling artist on the prowl to find global trends, current cultural happenings and fashion. With his blog, he blends together world cultures with his fashion tuned eye and seems to knock down global differences; after all, everyone can relate to fashion.
Photo by: Yvan Rodic
Photo by: Yvan Rodic
Yvan's goal is to create a unified world through his pictures. By taking pictures of all different kinds of people dressed the way they want to be perceived, he can create a new world online. A world that speaks to everyone about everything. Fashion is a representation of each society; its poverty levels, the racial majority, and most importantly, the uniqueness of each society.