Case Study: Richard Prince

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Mikaela Keung Talinn Grigor AHI 186: Contemporary Global Art 07 March 2018 Richard Prince: Case Study Essay Richard Prince was born on August 6, 1949 in the US-controlled Panama Canal Zone. He said in an interview he was there because his parents worked for the government, however several friends said he would boast about how his parents were spies. Throughout his career, Prince has been known to change details in his life to seem more mysterious or interesting. In interviews he talks about just “wanting to be a cool dude, or whatever”(Swanson, 2016). Prince never went to art school, something he boasted that separated him from other artists (The Art Story). Before college he went on a tour through Europe and in 1973, he moved to New York. He had several jobs, the most interesting being at Times Inc.’s tear sheet department. Basically he would deliver articles from the magazines throughout the …show more content…

He acts like he doesn’t care about the success or money and just wants to make art, despite being rich from art and making art that is good to invest in. His New Portraits piece had a mixed reaction because of how simple he made his alterations, how it was not a new message he was getting across, or how high the price tag was. The message would be seen as something like Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades, an item or image taken and only altered by adding a signature. He pushes the envelope and lands himself in court to maintain this rebel image he has, however the added drama of his work probably increases the value since it becomes more known. This work and Spiritual America were both pieces that caused a stir and made him more known. Labeling himself an outsider seems odd since at this point he is the most well-known artist of his time and his photography work is the most expensive art pieces on the market. The way he tries to portray himself feels different than his

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