Appropriation: take it or leave it

Take It or Leave It also argues that artists more commonly associated with appropriation— many of whom are part of what is now referred to as the “Pictures Generation”—have borrowed their forms and images not simply because of the accessibility of existing materials or as a commentary on the role of the media, but because this practice allowed them to assess and critique social hierarchies and traditions. Barbara Kruger’s work, for example, has challenged systems of power for decades. Louise Lawler and Sherrie Levine have provocatively pushed against ingrained notions of authorship and the largely hidden infrastructure of the art world, suggesting new models for artistic production and interpretation.