From Vinyl Toys, To Catholic Church… and what’s the deal with Radiohead?

The following are some thoughts I posted in a forum for a class at the Academy. The issue is copyright infringement/appropriation… and my take on it. It reads like an interview… so lets pretend I was just interviewed by the Landover Baptist Church.

What is appropriation to you?

There’s a difference between appropriation and plagiarism. Plagiarism is to use someone’s exact work, without altering it, and claiming it as your own. To appropriate though, is to take something that already exists, and to create something in a similar fashion, or to bring your “own take” to things. God bless the dadaists!

I think appropriation is the biggest form of flattery, and the biggest market opener you’ll find. Lets use vinyl designer toys as an example. Right now there’s a trend that could be considered a “mashup” between asian and urban culture, and that is to create simple and flat cartoon characters, and selling them as collectors items, either as plush toys or vinyl figures. Companies like Mimobot, Tokidoki, Gama-Go, UglyDolls, TCIMH, and Kidrobot are only a few of the artists and collectives jumping into the “vinyl and plush” wagon. It is a hot commodity, the “it”… at the verge of being saturated. But the future saturation (of everyone copying the style until it reaches mainstream) is what allows a movement to become full circle. The figures are similar, but so many artists working on them is what validates this style as a good style.

An example of a “dunny.”

How would you feel if an image of yours was appropriated by another artist?

Because my favorite style is the dadaist “collage” style, I would actually feel flattered to find myself inside someone’s collage, or to see someone imitating my style. Obviously, I wouldn’t want plagiarism (as in to have someone steal my identity). People in my circle imitate me, they want to get into the “lifestyle” art form I promote. And for me it is only a compliment because I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it first in my particular bubble. Of course, if someone’s idea was too identical… as in “crime-fighting mantis team dates and beheads all men they f*ck”… then I assure you, I would be the first one to press a lawsuit.

What about the more well known artists who “dance” on the fringe of appropriation of art? How many instances of artist appropriation can you identify?

I’m a post-postmodern, therefore (to me) the author is dead. If someone told me, “I’m sorry, but “web 2.0″ style is patented, and you cannot make glossy circles,” I’ll say, “You are not allowing your style to become a trend. Therefore, unless you can create 100 websites a day, your style will die in obscurity. And THAT would be the shame.”

Me trying to be on top of trends allows me to NOT consume an overly “watered-down” design. For me a “watered-down” design only proves that stupid people became aware of it, and now it is time to move on. The Tragedy of Commons… which I believe in fiercely.

How does recording music from internet sites come into this area of discussion?

I’m sorry, but Recording Labels are today’s Catholic Church. In the old days, Church was parallel to society, but as society progressed, Church had to change along with it. Market practices change, moral changes. Up until 30 years ago interracial marriage was illegal in many places. It is only a matter of time until Gay marriage becomes legal. Church changes eventually, or else it dies. It becomes a putrefactive limb that either gains movability or it gets chopped from its root.

My advice to Record Labels? Evolve; change with a changing society… don’t incinerate witches like Christians did, and most certainly, don’t have CDs be the only viable source of a musician’s income. Look at Radiohead. They have totally gotten rid of Big Brother, and now they let you download songs from their website, no label in sight. And their concerts? Sold out all over the country. Also MySpace bands have become quite popular by letting you download their songs for free. I actually find myself buying their CDs, and going to their concerts. DJ-ing is also mainly based on copyright infringement.. but it is the hottest thing around too.

The moral of the story? You are seen as a “wuss” when you sing rebellious songs, yet side with the system when it comes to copyright infringement. Technology is moving in a way that you can see ANY piece of media at ANY given time through your choice of electronic device. Therefore society changes to the speed technology is available to the masses, and this new society breaks old systems along the way. Then I guess it is time for new systems to be created in the old system’s place. Can anyone sniff a Nietzschism?

To read more.. visit Virtual Procrastinators. A cohesive archive of crazy things, back when blogs didn’t exist.

-Alex