Grade 10 Art - Day 44 "Appropriation and Plagiarism.”

I wanted to take a moment to discuss some of the legal and ethical issues that may affect the way that you use materials in creating your art work.

At its base definition, appropriation in art is: the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. (Wikipedia)

Andy Warhol appropriated symbols, photos, and designs in his art with great frequency.  Have a look at Campbell's Soup Cans:

Warhol was using images from popular culture to create some of the first Pop Art. In this sense, he re-contextualizes the original design, making his own unique piece. However, Warhol did face lawsuits from some of the photographers whose work he used, and appropriation remains a litigious issue.  The artist who appropriates the work of others may face legal consequences

Plagiarism in art involves stealing ideas from other artists.  If your work copies someone else's art, without re-contextualizing the work into a piece that is uniquely your own, you are plagiarizing. If in doubt, it never hurts (where possible) to reference your inspiration or sources.  You may do this in the title of your work.  Check this out:

Sources and inspiration: http://faculty.academyart.edu/faculty/teaching-resources/tips/visual-plagiarism.html, https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/arts910curr2010.pdf
and http://faculty.academyart.edu/faculty/teaching-resources/tips/visual-plagiarism.html