MAO Art Image of The Week - Kota Ezawa

So what do think of Art Appropriation ? Or more specifically, what about new young emerging artists, appropriating images from other, more established contemporary artists work?

Of course, OH SOO much has been spewed articulated on this topic of Appropriation in contemporary art. For example.. see these:

• Here (a total wow, super cool website),
• Here (OMG!! an entire book on the topic)   and
• Here (one of the more scholarly dull Journal articles I've seen)

Plus many a rich famous artist has based their entire career off of appropriation. Just to list a few.. Sherrie Levine, Andy Warhol, Richard Prince, Tasumasa Morimura, Vik Muniz, etc..

Which brings us to our image of the week by new artist Kota Ezawa. The image is called, "Photography Remix - After Nan Goldin, 2005" it's Duratran transparency on Light Box, 40 x 30 inches. Here is a posting, from the Tate's Collection of the Original classic Nan Goldin photograph from which it was stolen appropriated.

This 2003 Stanford MFA grad, Kota Ezawa, is most certainly already a quickly rising star of the new art millennium.

I first saw his work at Murray Guy Gallery last summer, and than again at Art Basel Miami in 2005.

Kota was a featured artist at the 2004 Shanghai Biennale, the 2006 Whitney Biennial's Wrong Gallery "Down By Law" Show, A Solo show at the Wadsworth Antheneum in Hartford, CT, plus he's also had some very gracious press already..

NY Times Review, Artforum, and Parachute.

Kota Ezawa, and his  Photo Remix series, was a winner of the SFMOMA 2006 SECA Art Award. Plus this image was featured on the cover of respected photographic journal, SF Camerawork the Wrong coast copycat of Aperture in the Fall/Winter of 2005.

So what do you think of this image? And the work of Kota Ezawa?

1. LUV it or Hate It? True Blue.. or just a Black and Blue?
2. Can't Beat-It! A great appropriation, or just an inappropriate artistic beating?
3. A visionary artist, or a photographer rip off with all flash and no focus?
4. Just another copy cat artist cashing in, or a true cutting edge digital genius?
5. A Warhol for the digital age, or just pain old tomato soup?

Comments

[Rich]

MAO..
Now.. that is a great Image of the week!! I love it. Changing the colors into shades of black and blue was pure brilliance.

It's about time you picked a real new cutting edge emerging artist. Plus a Nan Goldin image in any form is always amazing.

FYI.. I think everyone was getting sick and tired of all that Saatchi Gallery/Zach Feuer hyper pumped up and over priced institutional type crap yo were picking!

[Chris]

Loretta Lux is way better.

[Patrick Key]

I think it's really interesting. And I think Loretta Lux is way over.

[Fabio_Rojas]

Thumbs up! If nothing else, a nice "redrawing" of existing images. Good mix of animation techniques with solid source material. MAO, didn't you buy one of his works? Or am I thinking of another blogger?

[Mike]

Hey Fabio..
Yes.. I'm a Kota Ezawa fan.. and I own some of his work in my collection.

Last spring he was the guest speaker at the Guggenheim new Artist lecture series. They showed most of his entire body of work to date.. which is to be featured in the museums next major Video/New Media Exhibition in Dec'06.
Kota was a great speaker, and I was impressed with him, and most of his work. IMO.. an artist to watch and collect.

[A.J.]

Levine, Bender, Bidlo, Pettibone, Sturtevant rule !!!
when it comes to appropriation, the originals appropriate best...
the third-generation appropriators are just copycats.
um, and this image of the week looks unfortunately like a Patrick Nagel illustration from the 80's.
Just because you're a Nan Goldin fan doesn't make this work very important.

[Orenthal]

Looks remarkably like a Photoshop filter. Genius!