Through the Veil

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Iconoclasm & Appropriation

Iconoclasm is when art, particularly of a religious nature, is destroyed, defaced or otherwise desecrated. 

One example that comes to mind is when Pharaoh Akenhaten completely changed religion in Egypt and called everyone to forget their polytheistic ways and worship only one god, Aten, instead.  He demanded that his followers destroy as many temples and depictions of the old gods as they could, and put up new temples in honor of his god instead.  This did not go over well with the priests, so after he died and Tutankhamen became pharaoh, monuments dedicated to Akenhaten, his queen Nefertiti, and their god, Aten, were likewise destroyed.

The Koran describes prophet Mohammad and his followers destroying shrines and temples of the triple goddess and other polytheistic gods as they spread their religion all over the Middle East.

In recent years, the terrorist group ISIS destroyed ancient art and artifacts all over Syria.  They videotaped the destruction and posted it all over the internet.

Appropriation, on the other hand, is when art is created from art.  It is when an artist creates an image that uses another artist's image with little to no change.  Andy Warhol is extremely famous for his appropriation of anything from Campbell Soup cans to images taken by famous photographers in his silkscreen paintings.  This was a major trend in the pop art of the 60s, and continues even now.   Artists need to be careful, though, as appropriation can lead to lawsuits. 

Iconoclasm is destruction for destruction's sake.  Appropriation is a type of art for art's sake, though it may not be ethical.  I fail to see the relationship between iconoclasm and appropriation.

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