10/9-idea-appropriation

The term appropriation refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work (as in 'the artist uses appropriation') or refers to the new work itself (as in 'this is a piece of appropriation art').


When I think of appropriation art I automatically think Barbara Kruger. I feel as if she really took the images that were borrowed and made them her own. She made them into another piece entirely. Sherrie Levine is another example but one that I dont agree with. She photographed Walker Evans work and called it her own. It was a statement on appropriation in general.

I talked about appropriation very briefly in my entry responding to Umbrico's visit. She really opened my eyes to appropriation in general. There are so many different avenues for this type of work. I am keeping it in mind as a tool in my series. I have changed gears in my project, instead of trying to make a statement dealing with racial stereotypes within white/black culture, I want to focus on multiraciality, more specifically of white and black background (Mulatto). So where does the appropriation fit in? I want to go through old family pictures and scan particular ones that I think will be helpful. Im not entirely sure how they will function at this point. I want to focus on the social aspect of being bi-racial. What did my family go through raising us? How were my parents treated because of their interracial relationship? How was it for my mother, as a white woman, to raise three visibly part african american children? There are so many questions that I have. I think that my own narrative could open up to a wider audience because biraciality is so much more common. In the 90s and earlier it wasnt so. What was acceptable was very different. Today young mixed children are proud of their diversity. When I was younger, my family was very liberal and taught acceptance of all. However, I was constantly reminded by others that I was different from my mother. I want the pictures of my parents when they were younger, my grandparents, me and my siblings...whatever I can get my hands on. Once I have them then I can decide what I will do with them...whether they are inspiration for a narrative or function directly as components to my piece.