There's the work of Anastasia Semoilova who also uses massive billboards as backgrounds to surreal urban landscapes in her work. It fascinates me how and who is in charge of approving practices like this, taking someone else's work and turn it into your own and call it original art.
Thought-provoking! I'm not sure putting a urinal in an art gallery (or, say, a spoon on a plinth) is quite the same as taking another photographer's work and selling it as your own. At the same time I accept that if I put a painting on the Internet I give up control of what might happen to it.... Authorship is very vexed these days. Do you think it's OK for AI to use artist's images? I like your billboard images and have no idea at this point where I think they fall!
I don’t find Prince’s practice at all controversial. He understands photography perfectly. I do find them largely uninteresting, although some of the re-photographed cowboys are quite beautiful and nothing like the ‘original’ adverts. I’m intrigued by your claim that “advertising […] destroys our values.” What are these values and to whom do they belong?
I was thinking specifically of the cowboys and the rastas: communities who have close-knit shared values. Advertising can flatten and reduce such communities to cliches.
Didn’t the Marlboro cowboy adverts attempt to reinforce a sense of shared values, as a way of selling more tobacco? The photographers must have known that their pictures would be used in this way, and were handsomely rewarded for their work. Were they not making visual clichés - white, virile, all-American men battling the forces of nature…? Were real cowboys well-represented by these photographs? Photography’s relationship with commerce and capitalism is murky at best.
Nice one. I have - as you might expect - a few deeply held reservations - but that can wait for another day when I feel more combative! Have a great weekend!
<snap> https://whyweshould.substack.com/p/inappropriation </snap>
There's the work of Anastasia Semoilova who also uses massive billboards as backgrounds to surreal urban landscapes in her work. It fascinates me how and who is in charge of approving practices like this, taking someone else's work and turn it into your own and call it original art.
Great read Neil!
Interesting post. (Although each time I hear about “that guy” I smolder a bit inside…)
Interesting take on those photos. Have the episode with Rubin on my 'to listen' queue, but will speed this up after reading your article.
Thought-provoking! I'm not sure putting a urinal in an art gallery (or, say, a spoon on a plinth) is quite the same as taking another photographer's work and selling it as your own. At the same time I accept that if I put a painting on the Internet I give up control of what might happen to it.... Authorship is very vexed these days. Do you think it's OK for AI to use artist's images? I like your billboard images and have no idea at this point where I think they fall!
I don’t find Prince’s practice at all controversial. He understands photography perfectly. I do find them largely uninteresting, although some of the re-photographed cowboys are quite beautiful and nothing like the ‘original’ adverts. I’m intrigued by your claim that “advertising […] destroys our values.” What are these values and to whom do they belong?
I was thinking specifically of the cowboys and the rastas: communities who have close-knit shared values. Advertising can flatten and reduce such communities to cliches.
Didn’t the Marlboro cowboy adverts attempt to reinforce a sense of shared values, as a way of selling more tobacco? The photographers must have known that their pictures would be used in this way, and were handsomely rewarded for their work. Were they not making visual clichés - white, virile, all-American men battling the forces of nature…? Were real cowboys well-represented by these photographs? Photography’s relationship with commerce and capitalism is murky at best.
Nice one. I have - as you might expect - a few deeply held reservations - but that can wait for another day when I feel more combative! Have a great weekend!
I agree 90% with your critique of him but enjoy playing with the other 10.
I know you do… devil’s advocate!
Hahah. Aka nuanced thinker!
Hah, I would agree with you…. maybe not so much when it come to Prince, but otherwise, I do appreciate you!
Interesting. I like your Glasgow street photos a lot 👍
Thank you!