The lost prologues
Digital mash up
All art works remain the property of the original artist, their estate or owner. these works are only done in good humour. No claim is made to the original arts intent nor authorship.
One of the most persistent and central themes of art, is the debate over the legitimacy of meaning. Art has repeatedly, put forth enquiries as to the boundaries of meaning, significance, appreciation, opinion, understanding, and truth. Consider Duchamp or Banksy's bodies of art. They are far from the first, nor is this restricted to European arts.
It's as if artists have tried to give permanence to their meanings by fixing this memory through the objects we surround ourselves with. Embodying meaning within cultural and commercial commodities, a production of meaning.. Where things, bought or created, are resident of the cultures 'legitimate' collective memory,.
One might think that the younger generations appropriation and dètournement of the prior generations beliefs, (think of the history of modern art) , is but a means to express their own position and right to be on the stage of history. A seeming case of arts young eating their elder.
Yet this persistent culture jamming is always more a chess game of the outsider versus the established insider. It is not exclusive to the art establishment. This churning of the interpretation of established social meaning, the overthrowing of known paradigms of traditions and decorum, has always been part of arts raison d'etre, as well as the social classes dialoques. That we always seem to believe to have at last found the final say of the matter, is more a reflection of human folly and not the lack of arts success in questioning, in arts seeing a new.
So although art constantly over throws historical meanings, it continually attempts to anchor the newest meaning within cultural and social objects. It isn't saying no to society, it attempts to shift it. Seeking permanence and persistent of memory in their turn as the establishment have so often already done. Art isn't seeking revolution, but evolution.
