Sherrie Levine

Unoriginality is not what most artists become famous for but in the case of Sherrie Levine she has become so highly acclaimed for it it’s all she’s known for. Taking photographs of other famous photographs and presenting them as her own work she ironically subverts the very notion of original creation by neither recomposing or reinterpreting she confronts the idea of photography as an infinitely reproducible medium in comparison to fine art which tends to be a unique object. Her photographs cannot be mistaken for the original photographs or even as copies of the originals Levine works as hard to not deceive viewers as forgers work to betray them a distinct trail of evidence revels the multiple recycling of her image. Size and color for example often mimic the mass produced reproductions of the photograph not the originals and when it comes to the works she chooses to borrow they are examples of early twentieth century master works created by esteemed members of the avant garde. Well know works by the well known deceased. When titling her works she formally disqualifies herself from sole owner simply by adding the word “after” followed by the name of the artist whose work has been reproduced e.g. After Edward Weston. In one of her pieces titled Sherrie Levine (after Edward Weston) She reproduces a poster made by George A. Tice using Edward Weston’s photographs of his sons torso which he had based on a classical Greek sculpture of a male nude by Praxitieles. What distinguishes these pieces as not all the same is what every artist was trying to accomplish. When Weston recreated to pose of the nude he was paying homage to the beauty of classical world. When Tice then reprinted Weston’s work he said the he felt he was working in collaboration with Weston a longtime hero for the artist. And when Levine then snapped a photo of Tice’s poster Levine was working to weaken common assumptions about originality, value and possession her contribution is the absence or originality. The work she produces speaks to the human experience she brings to light that most of the places, people, and art that the public recognize is not from first hand encounters but form photographs. Levine’s art reflect the public’s acceptance of counterfeits as originals she says “the world has filled to suffocating. Man has placed his token on every stone. Every word, every image is leased and mortgaged…I try to make art that celebrates doubt and uncertainty…By incorporation parasite meanings” Sherrie Levine images are about its meaning, not its appearance. Her work wreaks havoc on traditional measures of merit. It also implies that a copy is no less valuable than the original. Levine’s copies may even be more valuable because they embody a new and possibly more profound artistic concept.