Journal Entry 2

“When a work represents “reality” do you think it is ethical to alter an image to change its meaning from the work’s original context? In what ways do you believe this plays a part in Ken-Gonzales-Day’s works, The Bone Grass Boy: The Secret Banks of the Conejos River and Untitled #36 (pp.36-37)?” 

A piece representing “reality” can refer to many things. Physical and emotional realities are just two broad generalizations involving what we can experience as human beings experiencing life. Reality in terms of artwork in this question could be referring to “reality” in context to depicting the human form being “realistic” (anatomically correct) or it could mean the works original purpose (meaning) contextually. As far as the human form or “accurate” landscape, whatever subject is at hand, reality needs to be altered for us to grow. It’s like asking if Surrealism should exist? Or Cubism? Or any other art form that isn’t Realism.

 Altering existing content is a different story. One must be careful and change enough of the original piece as to not plagiarize. Artists to do this all the time and it’s sometimes a perfect tool in order to portray thought through art. Remix theory is something a professor, Eduardo Navas, in our art department is actually an expert on and it refers to an idea that everything we make references so much of something in the past that we almost have to categorize it as a remix. The act of parody within art is also something to heavily consider. Some contemporary work done by Takashi Murakami is often said to reference or parody other works done by Andy Warhol and even works as far back as the famous print, The Great Wave of Kanagawa (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg). He takes the foam of the waves in combination with motions of the ocean and parodies it into installations called “My Lonesome Cowboy” (1998) and “Hiropon” (close to 1996) respectively (NOT WORK SAFE) (http://www.theslideprojector.com/images/1990s/murakami/murakami.jpg)

He also parodied Mickey Mouse; being fascinated by the icon and created a character he called the DOB man used in many paintings, including this one titled “And Then And Then And Then And Then” discussing the repetitiveness of pop culture in a humorous adaptive way (http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/59952/varieties/Popup_800.jpg). Even Andy Warhol himself made one of his most iconic images from the already existing Campbell’s Soup can. The use and alteration of “reality” in art is almost unavoidable.