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Must Artists Make Their Own Art?
Research Takashi Murakami–Find 10-12 new facts about him. No copy/paste.
Include links to where you found your info. What materials does he use? Does he use paint? photoshop? plastic?
Contemporary artist Takashi Murakami is famous for creating brightly colored characters. Murakami designs his characters, but he does not actually make his artwork. The artist oversees a team of assistants who actually make the art.
Murakami owes a lot of his success to his assistants. Without them, he would not be able to produce nearly as much work. The assistants benefit too—they get to learn about the art world from a major artist. However, some people think that artists should not use assistants. They think artists should make their own artwork.
1. What do you think? Should artists make all of their own work? Defend your answer.
2. Dig deeper: Is this a new debate? Andy Warhol’s work gave rise to the same question.
3. Should a gallery owner explain this to a client/buyer or is it the buyers responsibility?
Challenge: Create a work in the style of Takashi Murakami–but completely original to you. Use your own original drawings and Photoshop, Pixlr, MugTug or your choice of image manipulation software.
Post on your blog before you leave.
***If you finish early, studio time should be used to catch up on missing/late assignments or work on your portfolio.
Classroom Resource: Scholastic Art Magazine
Art Is Good 