Postmodern Appropriation
An artistic strategy of rephotographing or reusing existing images to question authorship, originality and the circulation of pictures.
In depth
Emerging around 1980, appropriation treated the existing image world as its raw material, arguing that in a culture saturated with photographs, re-presenting one is itself an act of authorship. It has generated persistent legal conflict, since the practice sits directly on the boundary of copyright and fair dealing.
Examples in practice
Rephotographing an advertisement and exhibiting the result as an artwork tests where authorship actually resides.