Roy Lichtenstein - Art is theft, Ctd

The famous Roy Lichtenstein 'Wham!' panel is the above image. The original by Irv Novick is below it.

Roy Lichtenstein is well known for the painting ‘Whaam!’. But less known is that the image was modelled upon an original panel drawing by comic book artist Irv Novick from the “Star Jockey” DC Comic story. Some say homage. I say plain old plagiarism.

Presenter and journalist Alastair Sooke said:

"Roy Lichtenstein created a series of paintings based on adverts… and in doing so he created his own brand, Roy Lichtenstein… but it’s been a two way street, the advertising industry has pilfered the Roy Lichtenstein brand in return."

And then said:

"There’s almost this hall of mirrors effect going on, whereby he was imitating advertising of his own era and ad-men who are not inspired now are imitating him." 

And:

"He’s cannibalized popular culture and its gone into the realm of fine art and then its come back into popular culture."

Roger Mavity said:

"He’s taken low art and made high art out of it and ad-men have taken high art and made low art out of it. So it’s a kind of creative recycling."

Also by Roy Lichtenstein, 'Look Mickey' is a 1961 oil on canvas. It is the first example of Roy's use of Ben-Day dots, speech balloons and comic imagery. Yet, once again, this painting is based on another work, from Donald Duck, Lost and Found.

 

W.B. Yeats laments the plagiariser and the appropriator in his famous poem, 'The Coat':

"I made my song a coat
Covered with embroideries
Out of old mythologies
From heel to throat;
But the fools caught it,
Wore it in the world's eyes
As though they'd wrought it.
Song, let them take it,
For there's more enterprise
In walking naked."