20x200

Untitled (300 x 404) by Greg Allen

Here at 20x200, we've been following the Cariou v. Prince case (and ruling) very closely. Chain emails have been flying around the office and the topic seems to find its way into many a casual, across-the-desk conversations. For our collectors out there who might not be familiar with the specifics, you can read the blow-by-blow. When the judge first ruled that Prince was in the wrong, we were most struck by the fact that she changed the standard for fair use: in order for appropriation art to fall within the legal limitations of the fair use clause, she said, it must be "transformative," and also refer back to, or comment on the original piece from which it is borrowed.

The Prince decision has hit close to home, indeed—seeing as how our very own edition-maker Greg Allen once appropriated a Prince piece. Greg's 20x200 edition, Untitled (300 x 404), is a thumbnail-sized jpeg of Richard Prince's Untitled (Cowboy), 2003. After editors at Slate were, "ironically, unable to get permission" to use the image in a slideshow review of a MoMA exhibition featuring the work, Greg took a screen-grab, gave the image a new name and called it his own. If you're familiar with the piece, (or Prince's work in general) you'll know that it, too, was borrowed—Untitled (Cowboy) is a rephotograph of a Marlboro ad by Sam Abell.

Did we lose you? We'll try to break it down:

1. Sam Abell snaps a pic of a cowboy for a Marlboro ad.
2. Richard Prince reproduces said Abell cowboy pic and calls it his own.
3. Greg Allen takes a thumbnail of Prince's rephotograph, blows it up and dubs it his own work.

Got it? Now get Greg's take on the most recent ruling and more details about the making of his 20x200 edition.

In light of the recent court proceedings surrounding Prince, the art of appropriation as we know it could cease to exist, though an appeal could just as easily turn the tables once again. Stay tuned—we'll be here, glued to our screens. In the meantime, you can get a steal: we're offering 11"x14" prints of Untitled (300 x 404) for $30 (usually $50) for today only, until 8:00 p.m. ET.