If I was Jim Krantz, I would be very angry that my photographs were re-photographed and exhibited under another name. It was Krantz's original idea to take the close-up photograph of a cowboy hat. Krantz states, "Like anyone who knows his work, it's like seeing yourself in a mirror", so I'm sure it was very startling for him to see his work displayed in a poster hanging outside the Guggenheim Museum. Richard Prince's explanation for his 'art' was that "he was trying to get at something he could not get at by creating his own images". I feel like this a confession of his inadequacy at having an original thought, and creating an original piece of art. Someone could argue that the idea of photographing someone else's photograph is original and artistic, but the idea and message behind the photograph is, by right, someone else's.
Later on in the article, Krantz makes a very light-hearted comment, seeming to take the stolen photograph idea well. Krantz states, "If imitation is a form of flattery, then I will accept the compliment." Again, if I were him, I would be very unhappy with the idea that Prince was making incredible amounts of money on my idea. And as I finished reading, I was happy to see that Krantz's anger level increased as Prince's popularity and income increased.
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