…art has always drawn upon its own tradition but what was once a tribute, an homage, a quotation, an assimilation, a borrowing, or a copy has now become appropriation and deconstruction. With an increased understanding of how works of art not only reveal ideology but also help to construct it, artists now critique work by their ancestors while recycling their imagery….Several years ago, while in Thailand I had dinner at a tiny restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms which was run by an organization that was also involved in sex education. I was amused by a t-shirt featuring the Mona Lisa holding a condom package. Now I am amazed by the unforeseen third-world meaning discovered in this transplanted icon of European history. Why the Mona Lisa? Wouldn’t Olympia, if one was choosing a Western image, make more sense?

This exhibition examined how works of art have been reused and reinterpreted in both art and popular culture. Artists included Nobuyoshi Araki, Nancy Burson, Eileen Cowan, Dorit Cypis, Ron Desmett, Didi Dunphy, Sandi Fellman, Alain Fleischer, Scott Grieger, Elizabeth Lennard, Sherrie Levine, Joe Mama-Nitzberg, Issey Miyake, Yasumasa Morimura, Brian Moss, Warren Neidich, Diane Neumaier, Stephen Prina, Rob Rogers, Anne Rowland, ROY, Chuck Samuels, Cindy Sherman, Starn Twins, Mark Tansey, and Jody Zellen. Catalogue with essay and color images designed by Jason Simmons.

© vicky a clark 2010