Fourteenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

Visual plagiarism is a common occurrence in art and design education, yet many people do not fully understand the meaning. Most people recognize the term appropriation from their familiarity with Andy Warhol’s popular silkscreens in which he used photographs, logos, and advertisements well-known in popular culture; however, many other nuanced considerations should be examined by those who are involved in the production and consumption of images. To circumvent this issue, two international faculty, one a teaching professor based in Singapore and the other a librarian from the USA, provide insights on their pedagogical approaches to addressing visual plagiarism. This paper reviews how the two educators collaborated to develop content for a multicultural, multidisciplinary audience focusing on the moral and ethical implications of image creation and utilization. Firstly, we introduce the Cut & Paste toolkit, developed as part of an active learning workshop for undergraduate students. Secondly, we introduce a digital resource developed to provide an easy-to-access reference resource for students and faculty. The guide reaches a greater audience outside academia as they are available online. The librarian, who has taught the proper use of images and citation to teach the community the ethical use of images, has incorporated the Cut & Paste kit as an addition to her teaching on image use and citation. Finally, we review how these resources have impacted their respective environments and how we might develop and steer these tools towards achieving a more ethical and academically integrous model of art and design practice.