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Sturtevant Double Trouble

by Brenda

Eduardo Riol
Zemlényi-Kovács Barnabás

Elaine Sturtevant understands the power of images. The American artist who worked most of her life in Paris devoted her career to make her own versions of works of her contemporaries: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Joseph Beuys, and Felix Gozales-Torres. When the audience is confronted with her work, they mistakenly take her work for someone else's original. "Repetition is not the same as copying," says Sturtevant. "We are now living in the age where images are no longer representations of something." Images courtesy: Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Sturtevant. Study for Rosenquist’s Spaghetti & Grass. 1965–66. Oil on canvas. 40 7/8 × 40 1/8″(103.8 × 101.9 cm). Lonti Ebers. Photo: Adam Reich. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Johns 0 through 9. 1965. Encaustic on newsprint. 10 13/16 × 14 3/8″ (27.5 × 36.5 cm). Collection de Bruin Heijn. Photo: Peter Cox. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Elastic Tango. 2010. Nine-channel video installation. 87 3/8 x 158 x 27 in. (221.9 x 401.3 x 68.6 cm); video: color, sound, 11 min., 2 sec. Private collection, Switzerland. Courtesy Gavin Brown’s enterprise. Photo: Thomas Mueller. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Elastic Tango. 2010. Nine-channel video installation. 87 3/8 x 158 x 27 in. (221.9 x 401.3 x 68.6 cm); video: color, sound, 11 min., 2 sec. Private collection, Switzerland. Courtesy Gavin Brown’s enterprise. Photo: Thomas Mueller. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Warhol Black Marilyn. 2004. Synthetic polymer silkscreen and acrylic on canvas. 15 15/16 x 13 7/8 in. (40.5 x 35.2 cm). Ringier Collection, Switzerland. Courtesy Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Haring Tag July 15 1981. 1985. Sumi ink and acrylic on cloth. 9 13/16 × 12 13/16″ (25 × 32.5 cm). Estate Sturtevant, Paris. Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris–Salzburg. Photo: Prallen Allsten. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Duchamp Wanted. 1969. Photograph collage. 11 7/16 × 9″ (29 × 22.8 cm). Kolodny Family Collection. Photo: Peter Butler. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Beuys La rivoluzione siamo noi. 1988. Screenprint on paper. 37 5/8 × 20 1/16″ (95.5 × 51 cm). Collection Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris–Salzburg. Photo: Arpad Dobriban. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Dillinger Running Series. 2000. Single channel video installation on rotating platform; video: black and white, sound. Dimensions variable; video: 26 min., 55 sec. Julia Stoschek Foundation e.V., Düsseldorf. Photo: Simon Vogel. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Warhol Diptych. 1973/2004. Synthetic polymer screenprint and acrylic on canvas. 6′ 11 7/8″ × 10′ 6 3/4″ (213 × 322 cm). Pinault Collection. Photo: Axel Schneider, Frankfurt am Main. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant (American, 1924–2014). Stella Arbeit Macht Frei. 1989. Black enamel on canvas. 7′ 1/4″ × 10′ 3 5/8″ x 3 1/8″ (214 x 314 x 8 cm). Collection Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris–Salzburg. Photo: Charles Duprat.© Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Study for Muybridge Plate #97: Woman Walking. 1966. Photograph. 7 3/4 × 8 1/4″ (19.7 × 21 cm). Glenstone. Photo: Alex Jamison. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Warhol Flowers. 1964–65. Synthetic polymer screenprint on canvas. 22 1/16 × 22 1/16″ (56 × 56 cm). Estate Sturtevant, Paris. Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris–Salzburg. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Sturtevant. Study for Lichtenstein’s Happy Tears. 1967-68. Oil and graphite on canvas. 54 1/2 × 52 1/4″ (138.4 × 132.7 cm). Glenstone. Image © 2004 Christie’s Images Limited. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, The Museum of Modern Art, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. © 2014 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel. All works by Sturtevant © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, The Museum of Modern Art, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. © 2014 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel. All works by Sturtevant © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, The Museum of Modern Art, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. © 2014 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel. All works by Sturtevant © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, The Museum of Modern Art, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. © 2014 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel. All works by Sturtevant © Estate Sturtevant, Paris

Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, The Museum of Modern Art, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. © 2014 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: Thomas Griesel. All works by Sturtevant © Estate Sturtevant, Paris