The big art debate
DOES USING ANOTHER ARTIST'S WORK AFFECT AUTHORSHIP?
Artistic appropriation (using pre-existing imagery) has played a significant role in art history, with everyone from Pablo Picasso to Salvador Dalí raising questions of authorship and originality. Here, two of our artists reveal their thoughts on this controversial subject.
YES : PAUL STEPHENSON London-based artist Paul Stephenson has faithfully rendered Pop Art founder Andy Warhol’s artworks using his exact materials. The world’s leading Warholian expert, Rainer Crone, described these works as ‘posthumous Warhols’. “The question ‘What makes an artwork ‘by’ a particular artist?’ was key to Warhol’s work. If he used photography stolen from newspapers and appropriated from other artists, was the artwork still ‘by’ him? Warhol’s answer was yes. Indeed, while Eugene Korman may have taken the original photograph of Marilyn Monroe, few would question that Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’ was his own creation. So the answer to ‘Does using another artist’s work affect authorship?’ has to be yes too. “Appropriation art is all about recontextualisation, which is placing the appropriated work in a new space to ask new questions. For After Warhol , this
new space is after the artist’s death. He famously said “I want other people to make my paintings for me” during his lifetime, so if another artist faithfully does so, who is the author? Rainer Crone, an expert in this very subject, believed that these artworks were not reproductions or imitations. “It would be impossible to be faithful to Warhol’s work without his original acetates; they are what makes After Warhol unique. The acetates I have were worked on by hand by Warhol and weren’t changed after that point as silkscreen printing is a mechanical process. I worked with Warhol’s original printer, Alexander Heinrici, to follow his exact steps so the final image is perfectly true to what he wanted. “Warhol also wanted everyone to be able to buy his art, but that’s not possible today unless you have £20 million for a painting! Making these artworks affordable is a form of financial recontextualisation and I like that it defies the elitism of the art world.”
Jackie - CadmiumRed Hand-Pulled Silkscreen on Linen | Edition of 40 Image Size 102cm x 102cm | Framed Size 104cm x 104cm £5,950 Framed
THE EXPERT OPINION
Available in four colourways:
RAINER CRONE (1942-2016) ‘In my expert opinion, paintings made with these film positives under described circumstances and executed posthumously by professionals are authentic Andy Warhol paintings.’
Cerulean Blue Cadmium Red Phthalo Green Silver
90 FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN/WINTER 2020
FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN/WINTER 2020 91
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