Copying the work of other artists: Understanding artists' processes, intentions, and values from the act of copying their work with their permission

My practice-based research is a study about the process of copying the work of other artists with their permission. The focus is not so much on the copy itself, but on the dynamic generated between the copier and the originator, and how the involvement of the artists in the process influenced my understanding of the artists’ processes and impacted upon the perceived status of the copy. I selected four artists with distinct painting backgrounds and at different stages of their careers as my subjects to copy: Andrew Bick, Frank Bowling, and two artists (Artist A and Artist B) both of whom rejected the idea of having their work copied.

The methodology comprises both art practice and analysis, utilising the copies and the negotiation with artists within my studio work to inform the doctoral thesis. The theoretical component draws on artists’ practices and texts that discuss the phenomenon of the copy, its value and status, as well as artistic authenticity and standing.

My requests to copy the work of these artists, the actual copying of their work with their involvement in the process, and the ensuing negotiations with them initiated a dialogue that explores how these artists accepted the copy into their practice, and what the existence of the copy might mean for their understanding of their own work.

My research demonstrates that making a copy with permission provokes different responses from different artists and concludes that the process of copying facilitates an understanding of the artists’ processes. It also suggests that the copies acquired a higher value with — rather than without — the artists’ permission and involvement. The ontological status of the copy, traditionally viewed with a negative connotation, is now regarded more positively because the artists collaborated with the making of the copy. The negotiation of an Agreement, to determine the relationship between copy and original, highlighted certain aspects of their practice they considered important.