Appropriation
Joachim Schmid
A good example of appropriation of visual arts is the work of Joachim Schmid- who uses other people's mundane family or personal images and reworks them. According to Celebrating Photographic Garbage - Photographs found by Joachim Schmid | LensCulture
"Using other people’s (often mundane) photographs, he creates artwork that is alluring, intriguing, and captivating. He revels in photographs that other people lose or throw away in public, especially if they seem to have been discarded with some animosity or intense feeling. He is very much a modern-day anthropologist who tries to understand contemporary cultures by studying its visual garbage"
If for example he finds an image that has been ripped up due to ill feeling, he reworks the image. After this is done, there is no indication when or where the image is taken.
Man Ray Photomontage
The practice of reworking images goes back a long way with artists such as Man Ray doing photomontages in the 1930s. The work of Joachim Schmid sees photography of normal citizens manipulated into a single image-similar to a photographic jigsaw.
Hank Willis Thomas
HWT works with many mediums including photography, insulation art, media and sculpture. He is an American conceptual artist whose themes are identity, perspective, commodity and popular culture (Hank Willis Thomas | BIO | 1 A look at his photographs revels an interest in all the above. 
The image above shows two black astronauts in an American space ship. The American space program was under attack in the 60s by the black community for not being inclusive and only white astronauts going to the moon. Also, the equal right movement challenged the need for such a program when life on earth for black people saw them living in poverty and degradation. Highlighted by Gil Scott Herons Whitey on the Moon 1970.
The image above shows two black astronauts in an American space ship. The American space program was under attack in the 60s by the black community for not being inclusive and only white astronauts going to the moon. Also, the equal right movement challenged the need for such a program when life on earth for black people saw them living in poverty and degradation. Highlighted by Gil Scott Herons Whitey on the Moon 1970.
Lyrics. (YouTube)
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and arms began to swell.
(and Whitey's on the moon)
I can't pay no doctor bill.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Ten years from now I'll be payin' still.
(while Whitey's on the moon)
The man jus' upped my rent las' night.
('cause Whitey's on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no lights.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
I wonder why he's uppi' me?
('cause Whitey's on the moon?)
I was already payin' 'im fifty a week.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin' my whole damn check,
Junkies makin' me a nervous wreck,
The price of food is goin' up,
An' as if all that shit wasn't enough
A rat done bit my sister Nell.
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face an' arm began to swell.
(but Whitey's on the moon)
Some images represent black mail bodies which have corporate logos burnt onto parts of the anatomy. He deals with identity and black peoples place in the world after centuries of repression by white people. The corporate brand is actually a brand or burn etched onto the body. The contextual message is equal rights and addressing inequality over the centuries. The slave trade and modern day corporate sports is referenced to significantly by HWT. This is especially poignant at the moment with the "black lives matters movement.
Kennard Philips
Kennard Philips is a collaboration between Peter Kennard and Cat Phillips. They produce photomontage art with a strong political and activist message. Kennard is a well known artist who has been established for some years doing images that are contextual like The Haywain (1982). Both have worked together since 2002 and the catalyst for their partnership was the Iraq war and their opposition against Labour and Americas involvement. The partnership has continued and they both challenge especially the Conservative governments policies and the prime ministers.
As discussed previously, both use material that is already in the public domain and manipulate it to create an image. Their work challenges the corporations and the state. Especially at a time when governments are under scrutiny for illegal wars (Iraq) and corruption.
KesselsKramer is a publishing project which deals with all manor of printing and communication. According to their website "All KesselsKramer Publishing projects are initiated by the creative thinkers of KesselsKramer. Each book or magazine expresses their personal passions, whether that passion is a collection of found photographs, short stories or a celebration of unusual artworks" Home – kesselskramerpublishing
As mentioned above, they deal in found content such as photographs, short stories or artwork. Again, like Kennard and Philips, they use material which is already in circulation and create contextual artwork from it. A selection called "In Almost Every Picture" they use collected images in public circulation which and give them a context. In Almost Every Picture 13, all the pictures have one thing in common. That being a hand that has obscured the image by mistake. The point is that despite photography now being digital, this still happens, as it did when photography was analogue. 
Natasha Caruana
The work of Natasha Carvana sees her images represent falling in love and human relationships. She went on 80 dinner dates with men and clandestinely took some images of the encounters. The works became known as Married Man. She used a disposable camera that gives a "sense of something being recorded that shouldn't be" (Natasha Caruana)
Natasha Caruana's work in the series Married Man is under cover and illicit in how she got the images. Her work is not only that of a photographer and artist but also a social scientist who is researching habits of some males in society but using imagery to illustrate her findings. 
Peter Kennard
Three words-up my street...….
Kennard Philip work is subversive and challenges governments and contemporary society. His work uses photomontages to protest against wars and corporations such as Shell (below)
Kennard reworked an image by John Constable called The Haywain and placed cruise missiles in as a protest at the US government placing them on the UK mainland in the 80s. Britain had become a base for nuclear weapons which would be fired at the USSR in the event of hostility.
My Work.
If I was to express my ideas, the context would be similar to Peter Kennard and his use of photomontages. 
I am influenced by post-truth and postmodernism. My work is of famous painting reworked with ideas similar to Peter Kennard-using Adobe Photoshop or Express to create photomontages.
Edward Hopper. Recontextulised to represent neoliberalism in the twentyfirst century.
Comments
Post a Comment