Never seen the ‘Mona Lisa’? Don’t worry, you could own a copy for yourself

// June 8th, 2011 // b-Crowd, b-inspired, featured // Kelly

Real Fake Art, Michael Wolf. Featuring a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503-1519).

What makes a work of art ‘famous’?  Is it the quality of the work, the character of the artist or whether it’s unique?  This much-debated problem is often referred to in art historical jargon as an artwork’s ‘aura’, meaning its authenticity and unique existence.  The surge in copy artists worldwide who are pumping out famous works of art daily are challenging the notion of original art.

Michael Wolf, a German-American photographer who has been living in China for the past 10 years, tells the story of this phenomenon in his series, Real Fake Art.  In these photographs, Wolf captures professional ‘copy artists’ next to their reproductions of Van Gogh’s, Goya’s and Lichtenstein’s.  These Chinese artists create up to 70 per cent of the copies of classic works to export to Europe and the United States.  Some of the most efficient copy artists are producing up to 30 masterpieces daily and selling them at the “art village” in Shenzhen for 15 yuan (about $1.90 USD).

Some of these portraits are identical to the original masterpieces, while others are larger reproductions of the works.  Wolfs plays with the notion of valuing artworks by showing his subjects in their urban environment and next to their masterpiece copies.  These scenes comment on the relationship between the Chinese mass-production of goods and modern capitalist culture that benefits from this labour.

Real Fake Art, Michael Wolf. Featuring a copy of Jasper Johns’ Flag (1954-1955).

These artisans are part of a budding multi-million dollar industry – the reproduction of masterpieces, which are sold cheaply around the world.  An Andy Warhol fetches a mere $45 and for $75 you could have a Van Gogh of your very own.  While these hand crafted pieces come mainly from China, they are shipped to the countries of the original works.

So, if you’ve never been to Paris to see the Mona Lisa, don’t worry, for $1.90 you could purchase a copy of the masterpiece for yourself.