Art And Cultural Appropriation

As part of an installation I integrated the format of a traditional indigenous Button Blanket.  Created by Northwest Coastal tribes for ceremonial use, it is a wool blanket embellished with mother-of-pearl buttons, and is rich with tradition.

Appropriation is a strategy used by artists forever and has taken on greater significance in mid-20th-century with consumerism at an all time high, and the proliferation of images through mass media.

According to The Tate, "Appropriation in art refers to the practice of artists using pre-existing objects or images in their art with little transformation of the original.” The MOMA says that it is the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of pre-existing images and objects. According to these established institutions my work is appropriation.

I have borrowed and copied the corporate symbol for Chanel and integrated it with the form of a button blanket. In so doing, I have attempted to draw attention to corporations and their influence on indigenous peoples history and future.  

More photos posted under Studio Work

 

 

 



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