How Appropriate...

Banksy's Napalm piece is a simple yet effective example of how to appropriate media and incorporate it into an artist's own work.  In this image, the artist has rendered a small (yet substantial) portion of a rather famous photo taken by Ron N. Timberlake during the Vietnam War in June of 1972, pictured here:

Along with the girl in the photo, Banksy has added the figures of Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald, two very recognizable characters created for large, commercial businesses.  The original photo was initially used simply to document the events occurring at the time, but was itself later re-interpreted and largely believed to depict American atrocities, when the people involved in the accident were all Vietnamese.  

So, amongst the appropriation committed by the public at large, Banksy adds his own character of use to the piece.  What once was a dramatic, heart-wrenching photo, has become a comment on atrocities in our own country - he has kept the critical nature of the original work, but the message is different.  Also, the purpose of Banksy's piece was not largely for commercial use.  Like most of Banksy's work, it was meant as a commentary on society, much like his more public graffiti art on the streets of London.


As an interesting side note, while learning about this piece and the original photo appropriated, I found that Banksy's piece was in turn appropriated by another artist, Van Thanh Rudd (seen below).  However, Rudd had stated in an interview that it was done in homage to Banksy.