Dennis Ropar and the art of consumerism
If art were food, Dennis Ropar would be the new McDonaldsâ„¢. Where twenty years prior, Richard Prince appropriated the advertising art of the day in order to leverage it against the American national identity, Denis Ropar instead appropriates the novelty of strange and almost forgotten mannerisms of 40’s and 50’s pop-art.
Like consumerism, the Ropar brand seeks to convince the historically naive twenty-something’s, that frequent the likes of the Euro Trash Bar, that he’s authentic and new whilst surreptitiously appropriating the American pop-art genre—the catalyst of mass-consumerism— as his own brand.
Additionally, Ropar deliberately avoids burdening his young punters with the need to think by keeping his fundamental message simple, unambiguous and idealistic. Brand Ropar doesn’t pussy around inviting punters to reflect on consumerism—he’s selling the Ropar experience. The Ropar factory carries the fight to the masses by leveraging the EBay vending machine and bids us to take-up the anti-consumerist ideal by buying his stencilled canvases replete with stencilled signatures.
Ahhh…. the irony 
Postnote: My apologies to anyone who read the complete hash that I posted orginally— it should actually make sense now
Indeed it does make sense now. Thanks
Ropar is very much an artist of his time…looking back in order to move forward. Unfortunately we have ’seen it all before’ quite literally.
TET said this on February 5th, 2006 at 11:42 am
Exactly, Micah Wright’s Propaganda Remix Project has been doing it for some time. In fact some could argue a whole lot better with his Freedom of Thought Related Propaganda and War Related Propaganda. Stylistically, it’s amost identical to much of Jeff Schaller’s work over at pinkcowstudio.
John Mackay said this on February 5th, 2006 at 10:17 pm