this bed makes itself.

Examples of Appropriation

Appropriation, in terms of art, refers to an artist “borrowing” an idea or already fabricated project and incorporating it in their own art to convey a meaning that somehow plays upon the image or idea that they borrowed. Appropriation, in this way, skirts the line of almost being considered a kind of plagiarism or even cheating as far as personal creativity is concerned. However, I consider appropriation to be something far from anything as sordid as cheating or plagiarism.
Appropriation differs from plagiarism in terms of sheer thought. Appropriation is in fact using the idea of others to source the creativity of one’s own work, however it also relies heavily on the artists personal expression. Plagiarism simply rips the ideas of others and presents them as their own without incorporating them with an alternative meaning, this is true especially in all of the art that implores aspects of appropriation.
Ultimately, it would be absurd to outlaw something like appropriation, mostly because humans derive nearly all of their thoughts on the patterns and ideas of people before them. “Copy-cating,” for lack of a better term, is simply part of human nature; when a person likes and understands the idea or actions of another person they often implore them in their own work. Again, this is especially true in art. Certain aspects of art have remained recognizable throughout history and are often so definite that they are easily associated with the era or genre from which they were derived.
Appropriation in terms of Internet use seems like something that would be very difficult to control. Seeing that the Internet is global and utilized by billions of people, billions of times on a daily basis, a means for appropriation is definitely assessable. However, this doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. I feel that when a person posts their work on the Internet it then is subject to the kind of manipulation that appropriation could be accused of.
It would be unfair or place restraints on something like appropriating, at least in terms of art. Because ultimately, the message of an artist can only be materialized by the artist himself or herself; inhibiting something like this would be wrong.

I chose the poem "A Display of Mackerel" by Mark Doty, because I find the language and meaning of the poem to be very powerful. However, I had a difficult time visually displaying what the poem means to me. Mark Doty wrote this work shortly after his wife had died while he trekked through the various stages of grief. The poem deals with the idea of human fatality, not only in death, but in the memory of those still living. Doty elicits the idea that, as an individual, you will eventually be forgotten. He equates the human race then to the idea of these oblivious dead fish, or mackerel that he comes across perhaps at a market place. He marvels at the idea that ultimately, these fish could care less whether they are alive and dead, but rather happy to just be part of a whole. I thought that this idea was difficult to visually depict, so I instead just used images of these dead mackerel, hoping that in their simplicity they would make the words of the poem interesting. I felt that this was appropriate because these dead fish were ultimately what prompted the poem itself.

pictogram and warning label

John Singer Sargent is a source of inspiration for me because of his mastery of mark making, light distribution and tone usage. I feel that the gesture of much of his work expresses a kind of natural human quality and character . This aspect of his style and execution makes his work personal and beautiful.

2nd day

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