Untitled (Cowboy): Behind Richard Prince's Photographs & Appropriation

2017 | US | 15 mins. | TIME MAGAZINE

Dir/Prod: Sarah Kramer & Stephen Maing
Edit: Stephen Maing
Exec Prod: Kira Pollack & Paul Moakley

Untitled (Cowboy) is a short documentary about artist Richard Prince’s seminal series based on the rephotography of Marlboro ads. The subversive work of decontextualized advertising images depicting the iconography of cowboys in the American west was not only a critique of American culture, masculine fantasy and consumerism, but also upended prevailing beliefs about ownership, identity and authenticity. The picture would go on to sell for $1.2 million at auction, becoming the highest recorded price for a contemporary photograph.