2:32 minutes (looped)
The Crime of Art is an animation by Kota Ezawa that appropriates scenes from various popular Hollywood films featuring the theft of artworks: a Monet painting in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), a Rembrandt in Entrapment (1999), a Cellini in How to Steal a Million (1966), and an emerald encrusted dagger in Topkapi (1964). Ezawa uses his signature cartoon-like style to remix and reenact these crime scenes, leaving only the artworks as “real” objects (as they are depicted in the films), rather than illustrating them. Reversing fiction and reality in an unexpected way, this gesture invites the viewer to question the reliability of the visual footage. Ezawa describes his artistic oeuvre as “a form of image theft” and focuses on appropriation and mediation of images through his works. Borrowing scenes from Hollywood films, The Crime of Art is in line with the tendency of the artist to copy and to manipulate imagery that belongs to popular culture. By focusing on stolen art, Ezawa rethinks the conceptual underpinnings of his work in relation to the dilemma of theft and ownership. These become urgent questions at a time when the manipulation of digital images is a part of our daily lives, blurring the line between real and fake. Through this work, the artist also questions the fragile nature of the museums that “own” objects with major cultural significance—whether looted, exchanged, bought, or donated from other cultures and geographies—many of these objects carry with them problematic histories.
Kota Ezawa borrows images from the news, art history, and pop culture and turns them into cartoon-like stories. He produces flat and two-dimensional imagery via his light-boxes, works on paper, and animations. These works are often inspired by important moments in history, such as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, the O.J. Simpson trial, and media coverage of former National Football League (NFL) player Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem as a symbol of protest. Ezawa’s animations, which he describes as “moving paintings,” make use of a labor-intensive technique that requires the artist to recreate each frame with close attention, producing hundreds of illustrations via digital drawing and animation software. He is best known for a signature style that embraces vibrant colors and simple forms, stripping detail from images to leave only essential attributes and environments. This reductive technique does not diminish the power of the image, as it turns to the familiar historical or cultural context to fill any gaps left by the artist’s erasures. However, the gesture also invites viewers to think about how these erasures might destabilize the reliability of public memories, highlighting the faulty process of collective remembering and what it tends to overlook.
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Prix Marcel Duchamp — 2024 — Centre Georges Pompidou — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Prix Marcel Duchamp — 2024 — Centre Georges Pompidou — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Previous Next Prix Marcel Duchamp — 2024 Exhibition Mixed media Upcoming Prix Duchamp 2024 © ADIAF, photographies : DR Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 In 8 months: October 12, 2024 → January 12, 2025 Dates et lieu d’exposition provisoires L’ADIAF a dévoilé le 10 janvier 2024 les noms des quatre artistes en lice pour la 24ème édition du Prix Marcel Duchamp, prix majeur de l’art contemporain en France venant célébrer les artistes en milieu de carrière...
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Review into British Museum thefts calls for fundamental reforms Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search British Museum thefts news Review into British Museum thefts calls for fundamental reforms The Independent Collection Security Review urges the museum to take urgent action, including fully recording the collection and tough management changes Martin Bailey 13 December 2023 Share The report has been heavily criticised by Ittai Gradel, the Danish gems specialist who privately warned the British Museum about the theft in 2020 Photo: Jeff Whyte The independent review into thefts at the British Museum reveals serious problems with the institution’s governance...