That tooth needs a pullin'

I've been putting together a formal artist statement for whispers and have been dwelling a bit too much on the idea of the referential.

I like how the idea of an access point (or 'toolbox') when encountering an artwork can be either a hinderance or a benefit. Ambuigity personalises the experience for the viewer whilst tangible motifs can enrich the outcome.

This reared it's head after seeing Maria (2004) from Richard Rinaldi.

This fits very snuggly with Andreas Gursky's famous effort.

Obviously many issues arise in this.... did Renaldi consciously (or otherwise) have Gursky in mind whilst making the image? Was the reference deliberate or incidental?

Most importantly though... does ownership somehow belong to an artist once they have rendered a motif? How generic does the motif have to be before it's public domain?

Classic examples of this might be Prince, Parr, Shore, Crewdson and Eggleston.