Self-Portrait as Record Collector

2013

Self-Portrait as Record Collector, 2013. Allen Rawson Ruppersberg (American, 1944-). Color screenprint on two sheets of black wove paper; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Stephen Dull 2018.52 © Allen Ruppersberg, Courtesy of the artist and Greene Naftali, New York Although Allen Ruppersberg’s cartoon-like self-portrait over giant reproductions of vinyl record labels may appear light-hearted, his appropriation of these vintage, mass-produced objects raise questions about what happens when influential aspects of popular culture pass into obscurity. Referring to his practice of making art from his collection of ephemeral media, Ruppersberg said: “The formal aspect of my work involves copying; the emotional aspect is dying.”