With people sheltering in place around the world in the hopes of containing the spread of Covid-19 people have been thinking up new and inventive ways of passing their time. Lately, one pastime has become increasingly popular on social media platforms: creating parodies of famous pieces of art using household items, family members and even pets. With thousands of these images being posted a day, we’ve rounded up a couple of our favorites. Then we’ll take a glance into the annals of art history and the roots of appropriation.



Art parodies: the latest coronavirus hype



The Getty Museum of Los Angeles’ art parody challenge

A few weeks ago, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles posted a surprising and amusing challenge for those surfing the web. The challenge was to bring a dose of creativity to lockdown by recreating famous works of art using household items.

This pastime caught on like wildfire across social media. Since March 25, 2020, thousands of art parodies (#gettymuseumchallenge) have been posted in response to the Getty Museum Challenge, which Tweeted: "We challenge you to recreate a work of art with objects (and people) in your home.”



Art parodies



The rules are simple: pick your favorite piece of art, find three things lying around your house and used them to recreate the artwork.



The Dutch embraced the art parody coronavirus craze

The Dutch were the first to embrace the challenge en mass, tweeting and posting images on Instagram with the hashtag #betweenartandquarantine. A Dutch Instagram account was even created in order to share the most beautiful coronavirus art parodies.



Art parodies



People around the world competed to see whose imagination was the wildest. This new way of connecting became universal for people because they didn’t need to speak the same language to share their lo-fi recreations, creating a craze that cut across all cultural lines. We have rounded up our favorite coronavirus art parodies. Maybe they will even inspire you to create your own!



Art parodies



Art parodies



Appropriation: A technique used by many artists



Appropriating art is not a concept that is new to art history; famous artists have been using this technique for years. There is even a name for artists working in this niche of the art world – appropriation artists.

The art parodies that have recently been brought back into fashion take a new look at what it means to appropriate art. Traditionally, appropriation in art is the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. However it re-contextualizes whatever it borrows to create the new work.



Criteria for creating appropriated art

In summary, appropriated art meets the following criteria:

- Making a piece of art unusual by giving new meaning to the original object through re-contextualization.

- Using an already existing piece of art (painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, etc.) as a jumping off point, transforming it or using parts of it to create a new work of art.



John Heartfield’s famous art parody

John Heartfield (1891-1968) created one of the earliest examples of appropriated artwork. This German artist is famous for creating photomontages with strong political messages. His most famous photomontage is an appropriated image of Hitler’s face that he transposed onto an x-ray of a human torso that pictured a swastika in the place of his heart.



John Heartfield art composition



Art parodies & originality

The success of a piece of appropriated art seems to be directly linked with its originality. Originality is subjective but here are a few elements that you can keep in mind if you decide to delve into the current coronavirus art parody trend.

Composition and organizing objects in the space of your digital canvas is key when planning your art parody masterpiece:

- Colors: find the proper lighting to create the effect of shading, paying attention to the placement and color of objects in the original, etc.

- Size, scale and shape: find objects with similar shapes to those depicted in the original piece and note how much space they will take up in your frame.



We hope that this article has given you a surge of creativity and inspired you to create your own art parodies during the coronavirus lockdown. Follow us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with our latest articles covering various topics about the art world and how to invest in art. Feel free to browse our carefully curated collection of artworks by established and emerging artists from around the world. Artalistic’s team of art investment experts will be with you during every step of the art investment process, giving you personalized support in finding the perfect painting, photograph, sculpture or drawing. If you are an artist looking for productive ways to bide your time, you can create a portfolio of your artwork for sale. Stay safe and see you soon for the latest news from the art world!