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Spiritual America Visual Analysis

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Valued at over $3.5 million dollars, Richard Prince’s Spiritual America, a rephotograph of fashion photographer Gary Gross’s 1975 original image is as infamous as it is provocative. Originally displayed in 1988, the piece continues to stir up controversy. In 2009 it was banned from the Tate Modern on the grounds that the image was “clearly child pornography” (cite). These charges are not entirely false; the original picture was part of a photo spread published in the softcore porn magazine Sugar n’ Spice. But repurposing existing objects in the real world into art is Richard Prince’s shtick. In Spiritual America, he creates a sense of discomfort in the viewer using frame, composition, and symbol in order to criticize America’s immorality by …show more content…

In Spiritual America, framing serves an important role in Prince’s criticism of American culture by bringing the viewer uncomfortably close to the image. Looking at the piece in a gallery, the photo is framed in gold with a white margin surrounding it on all sides. The relatively small size of the photograph combined with the large white margin, makes the details difficult to see from afar. Proper appreciation of the images features requires close proximity to the image, which due to its taboo contents makes the viewer feel a sense of discomfort. The audience is forced to confront the photograph head on; it’s difficult to look away. Underneath the display, the title Spiritual America is print¬¬ed on a card. The title refers to a 1923 photograph by Alfred Stieglitz of the genitals of a gelded horse. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern art, the piece represents Stieglitz’s view that America was “pent-up, materialist, and culturally bankrupt,“ (“Spiritual America”). The framing of the title gives a new lens through which the viewer can interpret Prince’s piece. By titling the work and alluding to a well-known photograph, Prince elevates what was part of a racy photospread into art. No other description is provided for the photograph, allowing the elements to speak for themselves. Through the physical frame and the title, Prince maneuvers the viewer into a position where they face the full affront of his

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