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Our poetry editor, Joe Pan, has selected a poem by Ana Božičević for his fifth in a monthly series that brings original poetry to the screens of Hyperallergic readers. The art comes from Hugo Pratt, repurposed here to different ends.
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I don’t know who is behind this cut up, but its not in very good taste. For one, the artist and writer of this comic, Hugo Pratt is not mentioned except for his tiny signatures on the pages themselves. I’d appreciate seeing some care given to the original creator, perhaps an acknowledgement this is an edited comic and where to find more of his work?
How wonderful that you left out that the artwork is from Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese comic.
Wow. Marvelous.
The art of Hugo Pratt is very well known & easily identifiable, & as was mentioned, his name is readily available within the panel. The repurposing of images like this one is a time-honored tradition in the art world. Artists from Roy Lichtenstein to Bob Rauschenberg to Richard Prince to Banksy have appropriated images without citation for the purpose of creating something new & integral to their way of seeing the world, & we are made better by it. Hugo Pratt will always be remembered for Corto Maltese, but this is not Corto Maltese, this is “The Night I Almost Fucked Ezra Pound.”
Yeah, yeah. Using it without attribution, is a pretty dick move, even if his signature is visible. You’re absolutely right this isn’t “Corto Maltese”, but it is Pratt’s artwork, which you used without attribution, or, most likely permission. Also, by not giving attribution, you imply that Pratt would be happy that you reused his art this way, which may or may not be true.
You didn’t change the images, only the words, so try not to put yourself on the same level as Rauschenburg.
Keith, I don’t remember Richard Prince or Marcel Duchamp crediting famous work they used as much as this poet did. Perhaps you’re against all Appropriation Art?
I’m not against all appropriation in art. I am for attribution, which I see , Joe Pan had no problem doing for the illustrations to the other poems in this series. I am for attribution when an editor put a poem and an illustration together. What’s the problem with attribution? Do you all have something against giving artists their due? I don’t even care if you have permission to use the artwork (although the copyright holders might, and if they litigated would win, since this is not a transformative work by any stretch), but think that attribution is a wonderful thing, just like the poem used was attributed to it’s author.
Dude, that’s a pretty weak response. American audiences barely even know Corto or Pratt’s work. Even within American comics circles, he’s not well known unless you follow the work of Paul Pope or Jordi Bernet.
Honestly it would be easy to just attribute and tag Pratt the same way you attributed the poet. It’s not a big deal.
Thanks everyone for your comments. We’ve added an attribution line; it was never our intention to hide the fact that the original art work was that of Hugo Pratt. I may have misjudged how recognizable Pratt’s work would be, that his signature in the work would be enough, & that the poetry, set against such maritime images, would stand out as an obvious case of repurposing. My apologies, & I hope you enjoy the new work as it stands. Cheers.