Bitch - Fest : or, When is a Rip-Off Not a Rip-Off ?

I recently wrote about  modern self referential pop-culture which seems to be obsessing with its own past whilst producing nothing genuinely 'new', and was therefore like a snake eating its own tail.
This analogy popped up in my news feed with the fact that a man called Richard Prince had mounted an exhibition of other peoples Instagram images which he then claimed as his own 'Art' through fair use or suchlike. A swift internet search revealed that Mr Prince has indeed procured the work of others and thereby incurred the wrath of the internet and its vocal denizens (never knowingly backwards in coming forwards).

Self-portrait of Mr Prince

I was shocked and (ahem) amused by the outpouring of vitriol ('... has redefined the concept of authorship') aimed in his general direction. No doubt he has ruffled many feathers, and it seems typical of our 21st century world that many attempt to ride the coat-tails of fame by seconding the talents and creations of others.

I have old college friends who have been royally ripped off by fellow students with no scruples , at least two big names (in the fields of fashion and photography, oddly enough) who were accused of plagiarism on an industrial scale - but this is not the place to air such grievances - as I said it's a cultural thing, and always has been, certainly in the creative field.
It's only now that the Internet allows for a full and utterly explicit discourse in real time on such matters.
The voyeuristic thrill from these dramas is like a little fly - on -the - wall peek into another life - a virtual reality show where dirty laundry is aired openly and with much vitriol on both sides.

I'm in two minds about providing links here, as the pages seem to be getting a fair amount of malicious spam, which may sadly interfere with any viewers attempts to examine and consider whether Mr Prince really is a shifty character deserving of such flaming, or whether he is innocent, a special artistic 'snowflake' whose gentle sensibilities have been grossly maligned by online trolls - or whether he is somewhere between the two , and loves the publicity...
The reason I'm dwelling on this is because of the punchline:

This is probably defamation

One of the 'unfortunates' featured in his exhibition of appropriated Instagram images is Doe Deere , (alias Xenia, alias Thunderwear, alias numerous online identities), who seems to have forged a career of her own from plagiarism in the field of fashion and accessories.
Her story is splashed across numerous web pages and is subject to a thorough trashing.
She is quite vocal in her own defence, to the point of name - calling and denouncing her own customer / fan base - at least, she appears to be - or are duplicitous agents of chaos attempting to undermine her integrity ?

It's all very confusing, and mired in the fog of an online war, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Mr Prince has ripped off unwitting users of Instagram, and one of the victims is allegedly ripping off unwitting fashionistas .

So there we have it - the online world of self-serving media is indeed devouring its own tail.
The cycle continues, and in the race to the bottom, these two seem to be streets ahead.
Excepting one thing:
Their plight has spilled over from the world of U.S. Art/Fashion, and is now global, thereby guaranteeing continued interest and the fame associated with the exposure of their names.
So regardless of the validity of their artistic enterprises, they both win by default.

At least they get their 'fifteen minutes of fame' as described by Andy Warhol.



STOP PRESS : Latest news is that one of the instagram photos has sold for $90,000.