For more than three decades, Richard Prince's universally celebrated practice has pursued the subversive strategy of appropriating commonplace imagery and themes. Riffing on such ubiquitous and intrinsically American images as photographs of Western cowboys and "biker chicks," the front covers of nurse romance novellas, and jokes and cartoons, Prince deconstructs singular notions of authorship, authenticity, and identity.
Working as an employee for Time-Life, the American print-media conglomerate, in the 1970s, Prince began re-photographing advertising images; by cropping them and removing text repeatedly, he became fascinated by appropriative processes. Untitled (Original), which originates from a larger series by the artist, displays his infamous “re-photography” technique, through which he artist recaptures pre-existing images and claims them as his own. In this work, Prince presents the cover of a vintage romance novel, Very Private Secretary, pairing it with the original painting for the cover of the book. In a meticulous process, the artist creates a diptych, confronting the viewer with the transformative nature of re-photography, observable as the painting and book jacket appear quite distinct. While Prince pairs the two images together, Untitled (Original) displays the signature of the painter, blurring the boundary between creator and collector and questioning the notion of authorship.