An upcoming exhibition at ArtReview pairs artists Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa to explore the ethics and aesthetics of image appropriation. Jafa's work, such as the video "Love is the Message, The Message is Death" (2016), uses found footage of police violence and Black cultural icons, while Prince's "Girlfriends" series rephotographs amateur snapshots from biker magazines. Jafa has cited Prince as a key influence on his own practice of transposing images across contexts.
The pairing matters because it highlights the evolving debate over appropriation in art, especially as Jafa's work—rooted in Black experience and social justice—complicates the legacy of predominantly white, ironic appropriation artists like Prince and Warhol. The exhibition forces a reexamination of who owns images and how context transforms meaning, amid ongoing copyright controversies and shifting cultural sensitivities.