I’ve come to realize that the act of artistic appropriation is complicated. It seems simple enough, yet it has many moral, legal, and ethical dimensions. Some artists borrow images in order to build on another’s good ideas. Some remake in order to “own” the work that they admire. Others carry out their assignment as a tender act of homage. From 1999 to 2005, I re-made famous masterpieces from US currency in order to engender a conversation about the way we tend to value or, more often—discount—the historic, aesthetic, or social value of works of art.
In this body of work, I approach the concept of appropriation in a different manner while still examining issues pertaining to value. Each object that forms the recent, formally-driven assemblages is stolen, mostly from friends and family. The pilfered items are of little economic value, and often of little sentimental value. I claim them solely for their aesthetic appeal and to fulfill a practice of looking, discerning, and acquiring the components needed to complete a given work. After the objects are assembled, I flock them with ground money, both to obscure their unique provenance and to bestow on them a seemingly greater economic value.
Stolen items, epoxy, money dust
(2007)
Stolen items, epoxy resin, money dust and glue
4.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 inches
