1. Which of the artist's many technical choices are of interest to you and why?
Richard Prince's decision to rephotograph an old Malboro magazine advertisement, remove the text, and enlarge the image to nearly life size are very interesting to me because of the concepts these decisions represent. Reframing a marketing campaign as his own fine art, Prince presents a lofty new set of questions to the viewer regarding the originality of the image, creative infringement, and the viewer's role in creating meaning in an artwork.
2. What do you believe are the artist's conceptual and/or thematic intentions?
I believe Richard Prince in his Cowboy photograph is emphasizing the role of the viewer and context in creating meaning in an image. Malboro intended the photograph to be a propaganda piece equating their cigarettes to a rugged American masculinity, but in Prince's viewfinder the image takes on a whole new meaning. The new context of the same image makes the viewer rethink the intended meaning of the work. Without the context of a magazine advertisement, I doubt any viewer would associate a heroically life-sized cowboy with something so mundane as Malboro cigarettes. Instead of looking at a cowboy and equating him and his masculinity with cigarettes, the viewer finds higher meaning in Prince's work. The cowboy may represent the macho American spirit of freedom. Prince's cowboy is refreshing in its portrayal of freedom, masculinity and other ideals for its purity. The representation of the cowboy is intended to be appreciated as is, with whatever ideals the viewer assigns to it. No longer is the image burdened by the much more worldly intent of spurning desire in the viewer in order to sell a product that causes cancer.
3. How do you personally respond to these choices and intents?
This piece has stuck with me since I viewed it for maybe five minutes in a painting and printmaking seminar class. There is something so rewarding in viewing the act of seeing as the act of creating meaning. Prince saw beyond the propaganda of cigarettes to find greater meaning in something so mundane as an advertisement. I am fascinated by the idea of finding the sublime in the mundane, even kitschy. I am also fascinated by the idea that a new piece of art is created every time a viewer experiences a piece. An image isn't permanent; it changes with the experiences, associations, memories, beliefs and feelings of the viewer. I am fascinated by the idea that no one in existence has ever actually experienced the same image in the exact same way as somebody else.
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