Fondazione Prada Presents Exhibition on the Meaning of Stolen Image

In theory, in the world of the aesthetic, artists take creativity to new places, but in practice, they often take it and pass it off as their own. Fondazione Prada presents L’image volée, meaning the stolen image, a group exhibition curated by German sculptor and photographer Thomas Demand. 

The show includes 90 or more works by over 60 artists, dating from 1820 to the present. Demand’s idea was to look at the way we rely on existing models, and how artists have always referred to existing imagery to make their own. The show questions the boundaries dividing originality, conceptual inventiveness and the culture of the copy. It focuses on theft, authorship, annexation and the creative potential of such deeds. Fondazione Prada has published an illustrated book to go with the exhibition, which runs in Milan until August 28. fondazioneprada.org