“Isn’t life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?” –Andy Warhol
Erik Sausa discusses his notion of contemporary art in his latest one-man exhibit, The Perks of Being a Copycat. Defining it as nothing but “rampant plagiarism,” Sausa uses what he calls images of sheer banality to depict what is cliché, trite, buzzword, commonplace, and dullsville. Through his works, Sausa challenges viewers to call them “kitsch,” “contemporary,” “unoriginal,” or any other way they see fit. The key in his creative process is finding a good copy, which he can improvise and base on an attention-grabbing thesis or materials to produce what appears as an innovative piece. Just like American artist Andy Warhol, Sausa revels in the freedom to re-create an existing idea and make it his own.
