Art Parody (Art Spoof)
Vocabulary
All of these words are used to describe a work of art that is in some way copied or borrowed in part – and mocked to a certain extent. Determine which word best suits your own work of art. I have selected parody for my "Venus Rising." If I changed the title to "Homage to Botticelli" – then it may be homage as well. Below are three activities that should be fun to do... ONLY select one for your homework assignment. You may do the other ones in your spare time.
Parody - A work that imitates the characteristic style of another work, either for comic effect or ridicule. Parody is one of the basic tropes. Also see appropriation, content, caricature, homage, and satire. See ArtLex for more.
Pastiche - A work of art made in admitted imitation of several style of other works. A composition of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge or pasticcio. Often a pastiche is made in order to ridicule the style of the artist it imitates. Also see appropriation. (pr. pass-teesh')
Satire - Irony, sarcasm, or derisive wit used to attack or expose vice, folly, or stupidity. Caricatures are commonly satirical whenever they are critical. http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/S.html
Homage - Special acknowledgment or respect shown or expressed publicly to persons whose influence an artist wishes to honor. http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex
1. Mona Lisa and Ahmet Kurt present 20 periods in Art History
Here are the images - [Archive]
"The Essential Guide to the History of Painting" With the help of some graphic programs Mr. Kurt has re-worked Leonardo da Vinci´s Mona Lisa according to epochs and styles in the pictorial art.
For this homework assignment, select six Mona Lisa Parody’s that interest you (form this site). Find a work of art from an artist that is listed for that time period that relates to the image Kurt has done of Mona Lisa (give Web address OR book title where you found the image). Country of origin? When was the work painted?
For example: Art of Perspective 1450 – 1500, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (Italian c. 1485-86) (http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/botticelli/)
2. The Cat Gallery
This site shows cat portraits in the style of six different artists. For this assignment, find a painting by each artist that is similar to the cat portrait. Give the name of the painting, when it was painted and describe how the cat portrait is similar (or a parody). From what nationality is each artist?
3. "History of Art as Told by the Blue Man Group" http://www.blueman.com/about_bmg/art.shtml (Archive)
Select six of the works shown on the Blue Man Group Web site. Find the original created by the artist and list Web page address. When was the original work created? What nationality is the artist?
Example from the first work parodied: The Gleaner by Millet - painted in France - 1857 http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/110.html
Some additional sites of interest:
"American Gothic Parody" (Archive) - More images can be found online with a search for American Gothic Parody).
"Mona Lisa Mania" http://www.monalisamania.com/index.html
"Mona Lisa Images for a Modern World" http://www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONALIST.htm
Statue of Liberty parody
http://www.ils.unc.edu/~beasb/parodies.html (Archive)
http://www.ils.unc.edu/~beasb/art.html (Archive - More liberty art)
More Art Parody can be found on the Internet by Entering "Art Spoofs" in your search engine (be careful – some images may be objectionable for students)