File:Aziz+Cucher Maria 1994-5.jpg

Photographic work by Aziz + Cucher, Maria (C-print, 50" x 40", 1994–95. Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). The image illustrates a major body of work in Aziz + Cucher's early career beginning in the 1990s, when they produced several photographic series that explored metaphors for organic- technological interface, often centered on skin as a boundary or site of intervention. This work is from their well-known "Dystopia" (1995) series, digitally altered "portraits" that examined alienation and the potential diminishment of human identity and interaction in the wake of information technologies. It featured heads of men and women with smooth skin "grafted" over their sense-organ orifices, rendering them vaguely alien yet still human in temperament, and seemingly sealed, senseless, against the world. These photographs were publicly exhibited in prominent venues, discussed in major art journals and daily press publications, and acquired by museums.

Artists Aziz + Cucher. Copyright held by the artist.

Aziz + Cucher

Entire artwork

Yes. The image will not affect the commercial value of the original work or limit the copyright holder's rights or ability to distribute the original due to its low resolution and the general workings of the art market, which values the actual work of art. Because of the low resolution, illegal copies could not be made.

The image has contextual significance serving an educational purpose as the primary means of illustrating a key body of work in Aziz + Cucher's early career: their photographic works centered on the body, skin, and socio-anthropological themes such as dehumanization, communication breakdown and notions of utopia and dystopia in relation to advancing technology. These heir metaphorical projects frequently used new digital approaches to produce images that were previously unattainable. Because the article is about artists and their work, the omission of the image would significantly limit a reader's understanding and ability to understand this foundational body of work and medium, which brought Aziz + Cucher early recognition through exhibitions in major venues, coverage by major critics and publications, and museum acquisitions. Aziz + Cucher's work of this type and this series, as well as this specific work, are discussed in the article and by critics cited in the article.

There is no free equivalent of this or any other of this series by Aziz + Cucher, so the image cannot be replaced by a free image.

The image use is minimal in that it conveys important information that a full artwork image at a limited fair-use size cannot due to the uniquely hyper-detailed nature of the work. By providing a close-up of the artist's style and imagery, it is significantly more informative for a viewer. It is also a further protection (along with the low resolution) against affecting commercial value.