Elvis Diptych
Silkscreen on canvas
184 x 129 cms
2007
A double print of the Artist as Elvis Presley, one side in grey on a white background, and the other in white on a black background. Printed in the style of an Andy Warhol silkscreen.
Exhibitions
Essays
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Gavin Turk Is Not A Common Thief - Matt Mason
SHOW
Gavin Turk Is Not A Common Thief - Matt Mason
Some people think he is, but I disagree. I think he’s more like Hans Gruber, the German terrorist who takes over Nakatomi Towers in Die Hard.
Let me explain.
Mr. Turk is certainly a copycat. This is a well known fact, and indeed, a reason people are drawn to his work. The way he deals with concepts such as authorship and originality resonate with us, and for good reason.
Most of us are common thieves.
Every day each of us break copyright laws many times, without even realizing. If you photocopy a page from a book, take a picture of a work of art you didn’t produce, sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in public or forward an email you didn’t write, you’re guilty.
Our ideas about property rights, intellectual or otherwise, are generally viewed as good for society. Most of the time, they are. The problem is our laws pertaining to intellectual property are no longer sophisticated enough to deal with the ways we use information in the real world.
A law professor named John Tehranian from The University of Utah recently conducted an experiment that proves this. He made