---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I find is that the taking, the…"
description: "\"What I find is that the taking, the stealing, the appropriation of images has to do with prior availability, and it sets up a degree where things can b..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/richard-prince-23350_appropriation_what-i-find-is-that-the-taking-the-steal_1251623.png"
---

#  What I find is that the taking, the stealing, the…

![“What I find is that the taking, the stealing, the appropriation of images has to do with prior availability, and it sets up a degree where things can be shared... It's like 50% off... You can let something of another emotion or another personality sign on your work, or co-sign it.” quote by Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/richard-prince-23350_appropriation_what-i-find-is-that-the-taking-the-steal_1251623.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/richard-prince-23350_appropriation_what-i-find-is-that-the-taking-the-steal_1251623.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/richard-prince-23350_appropriation_what-i-find-is-that-the-taking-the-steal_1251623.png)

> “What I find is that the taking, the stealing, the appropriation of images has to do with prior availability, and it sets up a degree where things can be shared... It's like 50% off... You can let something of another emotion or another personality sign on your work, or co-sign it.”

[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The artist discusses how borrowing images relies on their availability, creating a shared visual language that blurs authorship.

**In simple terms:** Image borrowing depends on what’s already out there.

Key Takeaway

Use existing visuals to enrich your work.

Themes

creativity appropriation culture

Mood

analytical critical

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- advertising
- digital collage
- social media memes

Key Concepts

post‑modernism intertextuality authorship

Questions to Reflect On

- How does shared imagery affect originality?
- When is appropriation respectful?

A Different Perspective

Legal and ethical issues can arise.

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[Appropriation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriation/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/)

## Related quotes

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[Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/)

> [I propose in the following discussion to call one's own labor, and the equivalent exchange of one's own labor for the labor of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-oppenheimer/i-propose-in-the-following-discussion-to-call-one-s-own-labor-and-the/)

Franz Oppenheimer

> [I'm not tied to the news cycle. I can do an episode on cultural appropriation, not on Rachel Dolezal. We might make a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/i-m-not-tied-to-the-news-cycle-i-can-do-an-episode-on-cultural/)

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> [I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/i-can-find-no-warrant-for-such-an-appropriation-in-the-constitution/)

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> [Feminist pedagogy can only be liberatory if it is truly revolutionary because the mechanisms of appropriation within white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/feminist-pedagogy-can-only-be-liberatory-if-it-is-truly-revolutionary/)

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> [As chairman of the Senate subcommittee responsible for NASA appropriations, I say not a penny for this nutty fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-proxmire/as-chairman-of-the-senate-subcommittee-responsible-for-nasa/)

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Scott E. Spradlin

## More by Richard Prince

> [It would be strange for me to think I'm being ripped off, because that's what I do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-prince/it-would-be-strange-for-me-to-think-i-m-being-ripped-off-because-that/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

> [It's interesting how people who were once fairly radical can become, later in life, kind of conservative and not just in terms of politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-prince/it-s-interesting-how-people-who-were-once-fairly-radical-can-become/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

> [My studio is the only place I feel good in. There, I'm fearless; outside, I'm a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-prince/my-studio-is-the-only-place-i-feel-good-in-there-i-m-fearless-outside/)

[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

> [The subject comes first, the medium second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-prince/the-subject-comes-first-the-medium-second/)

[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

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[Richard Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

[Explore all 26 Richard Prince quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-prince/)

## More Appropriation quotes

> [What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/what-would-america-be-like-if-we-loved-black-people-as-much-as-we/)

[Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/)

> [We have some of the most influential Members of Congress here today, and I do hope that we can get this appropriation for these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-have-some-of-the-most-influential-members-of-congress-here-today/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

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> [As chairman of the Senate subcommittee responsible for NASA appropriations, I say not a penny for this nutty fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-proxmire/as-chairman-of-the-senate-subcommittee-responsible-for-nasa/)

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[Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/)

> [I'm not tied to the news cycle. I can do an episode on cultural appropriation, not on Rachel Dolezal. We might make a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/i-m-not-tied-to-the-news-cycle-i-can-do-an-episode-on-cultural/)

[Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/)

> [I propose in the following discussion to call one's own labor, and the equivalent exchange of one's own labor for the labor of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-oppenheimer/i-propose-in-the-following-discussion-to-call-one-s-own-labor-and-the/)

Franz Oppenheimer

> [“The postmodern notion of "appropriation" is not a good fit. In New Mexico, the "indigenous" is a syncretic fusion of Native American and Hispano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-r-lippard/the-postmodern-notion-of-appropriation-is-not-a-good-fit-in-new/)

[Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/)

> [If you want to talk about cultural appropriation, we have to go back to the Greeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/if-you-want-to-talk-about-cultural-appropriation-we-have-to-go-back/)

[Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/)

> [Translation is not appropriation, as is sometimes claimed; it is a form of listening that then changes how you speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-weinberger/translation-is-not-appropriation-as-is-sometimes-claimed-it-is-a-form/)

[Eliot Weinberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-weinberger/)

> [“The alternative to appropriation is a world in which artists only reference their own cultures." "That's an oversimplification of the issue." "The alternative to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/the-alternative-to-appropriation-is-a-world-in-which-artists-only/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man's needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/there-are-two-methods-or-means-and-only-two-whereby-man-s-needs-and/)

[Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/)

> [“Even you, the professional helper, often mistaken for the enlightened Guru or Staretz, can become lost in your thoughts that you must be competent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-e-spradlin/even-you-the-professional-helper-often-mistaken-for-the-enlightened/)

Scott E. Spradlin

[Browse all 108 Appropriation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriation/)

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