Richard Prince Untitled (Girlfriend) 1993 Ektacolour print 152.4 × 101.6 cm (60 × 40 in) Signed, dated, and numbered ‘Prince 1993 ap’ on the reverse. This work is the artist’s proof aside from the edition of two.
Provenance Private Collection, New York Literature N. Spector, Richard Prince Germany, 2007, p. 158 (illustrated) H. Cantz, Richard Prince Photographs, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2002, p. 137 (illustrated), p. 159 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay “ It wasn’t my reality, but it can become your reality when you start to possess it.” RICHARD PRINCE Untitled (Girlfriend), from 1993, is a provocative work by the artist Richard Prince A true portraitist, Prince is revered as one of the most challenging, prolific contemporary artists of his generation. In his Girlfriends series, Prince astutely dissects reality, his shrewd vision transforms, vitally repositioning images and instilling in them forceful identity. The artist powerfully revitalises his subject, giving prominence to the overlooked. Prince’s fragmented portraits of women scrutinize issues of gender and the manifestations of culture. Prince’s ‘girlfriends’ have been selected, re-photographed and cropped by the artist. The process of being cut from their original crowded magazine pages and placed in the sphere of art raises a fascinating discussion. Untitled (Girlfriend) is derived from the once popular imagery in American biker magazines such as Easy-riders and Iron Horse. As the artist himself suggests, “I like the idea o trying to present work that’s factual, that’s based in reality, even though it’s still somewhat unbelievable. I don’t particularly like to make things up and I don’t particularly like to get too creative” (in N. Skukur, ‘Interview with Richard Prince’, Russh Magazine, 2010). The present lot depicts a young, semi-nude woman posing on the back of a motorcycle. The powerful comment which the image construes would certainly have been overlooked in its original context. In Prince’s work, the marginalised is upheld and in transcending its background, the artist irreversibly alters the image’s relevance. By placing Untitled (Girlfriend) within the context of art, Prince lends resonance and meaning to a once anonymous portrait. Consequently, in the Girlfriends series, every photographic fault, such as a grainy lack of focus or saturated light, becomes a vital element contributing to the work. Prince’s constructions artfully emphasize their bad colour, bad lighting and stiff poses. Fundamentally the subjects, the ‘girlfriends’, have advanced from their amateur posing as objectified possessions alongside the men’s motorbikes. Just as the Cowboys series produced by Prince a decade earlier embodies an iconic representation of American masculinity, Untitled (Girlfriend) marks a reversal of this message. Whereas the ‘cowboys’ were costumed, choreographed and photographed by advertising professionals, the ‘girlfriends’ were set up by their boyfriends. Richard Prince suggested of his work, “I think many of these pictures have their own egos and they have an imagination of their own. That’s my own particular reaction. I also think the biker chick is perhaps a more realistic representation that the Grace Kelly girlnext- door. I mean, the biker chicks are the girls next door” (quoted in B. Wallis, ‘A Conversation with Richard Prince’, Art in America 81, November 1993). Read More Artist Bio Richard Prince American • 1947 While some artists are known for a signature style, Richard Prince is most closely associated with his subject matter: for instance, Cowboys, his series of the Marlboro man magnified between 1980 and 1994; Nurses, sinister yet seductive, all copies from pulp novel covers; joke text paintings, simple block lettering of his own or appropriated jokes. Often labelled an artist of the Pictures Generation alongside Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo Prince has been said to be the contemporary artist who most understands the depth and influence of mass media over life in the 20th and 21st centuries. In whichever medium Prince chooses to work, he stays within the realm of appropriation. Of course Prince is not met without controversy, and he has been on the losing end of several
Richard Prince Untitled (Girlfriend) 1993 Ektacolour print 152.4 × 101.6 cm (60 × 40 in) Signed, dated, and numbered ‘Prince 1993 ap’ on the reverse. This work is the artist’s proof aside from the edition of two.
Provenance Private Collection, New York Literature N. Spector, Richard Prince Germany, 2007, p. 158 (illustrated) H. Cantz, Richard Prince Photographs, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2002, p. 137 (illustrated), p. 159 (illustrated) Catalogue Essay “ It wasn’t my reality, but it can become your reality when you start to possess it.” RICHARD PRINCE Untitled (Girlfriend), from 1993, is a provocative work by the artist Richard Prince A true portraitist, Prince is revered as one of the most challenging, prolific contemporary artists of his generation. In his Girlfriends series, Prince astutely dissects reality, his shrewd vision transforms, vitally repositioning images and instilling in them forceful identity. The artist powerfully revitalises his subject, giving prominence to the overlooked. Prince’s fragmented portraits of women scrutinize issues of gender and the manifestations of culture. Prince’s ‘girlfriends’ have been selected, re-photographed and cropped by the artist. The process of being cut from their original crowded magazine pages and placed in the sphere of art raises a fascinating discussion. Untitled (Girlfriend) is derived from the once popular imagery in American biker magazines such as Easy-riders and Iron Horse. As the artist himself suggests, “I like the idea o trying to present work that’s factual, that’s based in reality, even though it’s still somewhat unbelievable. I don’t particularly like to make things up and I don’t particularly like to get too creative” (in N. Skukur, ‘Interview with Richard Prince’, Russh Magazine, 2010). The present lot depicts a young, semi-nude woman posing on the back of a motorcycle. The powerful comment which the image construes would certainly have been overlooked in its original context. In Prince’s work, the marginalised is upheld and in transcending its background, the artist irreversibly alters the image’s relevance. By placing Untitled (Girlfriend) within the context of art, Prince lends resonance and meaning to a once anonymous portrait. Consequently, in the Girlfriends series, every photographic fault, such as a grainy lack of focus or saturated light, becomes a vital element contributing to the work. Prince’s constructions artfully emphasize their bad colour, bad lighting and stiff poses. Fundamentally the subjects, the ‘girlfriends’, have advanced from their amateur posing as objectified possessions alongside the men’s motorbikes. Just as the Cowboys series produced by Prince a decade earlier embodies an iconic representation of American masculinity, Untitled (Girlfriend) marks a reversal of this message. Whereas the ‘cowboys’ were costumed, choreographed and photographed by advertising professionals, the ‘girlfriends’ were set up by their boyfriends. Richard Prince suggested of his work, “I think many of these pictures have their own egos and they have an imagination of their own. That’s my own particular reaction. I also think the biker chick is perhaps a more realistic representation that the Grace Kelly girlnext- door. I mean, the biker chicks are the girls next door” (quoted in B. Wallis, ‘A Conversation with Richard Prince’, Art in America 81, November 1993). Read More Artist Bio Richard Prince American • 1947 While some artists are known for a signature style, Richard Prince is most closely associated with his subject matter: for instance, Cowboys, his series of the Marlboro man magnified between 1980 and 1994; Nurses, sinister yet seductive, all copies from pulp novel covers; joke text paintings, simple block lettering of his own or appropriated jokes. Often labelled an artist of the Pictures Generation alongside Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo Prince has been said to be the contemporary artist who most understands the depth and influence of mass media over life in the 20th and 21st centuries. In whichever medium Prince chooses to work, he stays within the realm of appropriation. Of course Prince is not met without controversy, and he has been on the losing end of several
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
