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Beg, Steal and Borrow: Artists take a stand against originality

"Art is theft," Picasso once proclaimed, and it's often said that much of the best and most ‘original’ new art involves an act or two of unequivocal, overt theft.

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Beg, Steal & Borrow book cover by Robert Shore with orange spine and cream centre panel, published by Elephant Books

This snazzy new book, Beg, Steal and Borrow, by Elephant Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Robert Shore, offers a comprehensive and provocative survey of the complex subjects of art, theft and copyright, written in an easy to read, journalistic style.

Interestingly, it traces an artistic lineage of appropriation, from Michelangelo to Jeff Koons, and examines the history of its legality from the Sixteenth Century to now. In addition to the fascinating content, the book design is by Pentagram’s Angus Hyland and very much mirrors the ongoing theme of appropriation.

Robert Shore is the editor of the visual-arts quarterly Elephant and was previously deputy editor of Art Review magazine. As an arts journalist, he has contributed to the Sunday Times, the Guardian and Metro. He is also the author of 10 Principles of Advertising and Bang in the Middle.

Discover more at www.laurenceking.com.

Open book spread showing a Marshall McLuhan quote on the left page and a classical artwork with three figures whose heads are replaced by red, orange and blue circles on the right page
Open book spread showing text on left page and collaged abstract artwork in black, white and pink on right page from Beg, Steal and Borrow by Robert Shore
Open pages of Beg, Steal and Borrow showing a Sherrie Levine quote on the left and a photograph of a geometric white sculpture overlaid on a landscape on the right
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