Richard Prince's "Super Group" series, showcased at Galerie Max Hetzler in Berlin during 2017, represents a deep dive into the intersection of visual art and music culture, reflecting the artist's ongoing fascination with American pop culture, both highbrow and lowbrow. The title itself, "Super Group," draws from the concept of a music band composed of members who have already achieved fame individually, encapsulating the essence of iconic and individualistic spirit found in Western rock and pop culture. This series is a vivid amalgamation of Prince's interests in music, band culture, and the creation of new art forms through the appropriation and recontextualization of existing cultural symbols (Max Hetzler Publications) (Home - Galerie Max Hetzler).
In creating the works for "Super Group," Prince employed a variety of materials and techniques, incorporating actual or scanned and printed record sleeves, photos, posters, and magazine covers onto the canvas. Some pieces even included real objects such as bras, likely nodding to Prince's own rock band, Black Bra. The application of paint and oil stick, done in a seemingly rapid manner, covers parts of the collaged surface, allowing the layered materials to create a sense of depth through their overlapping textures. This method of construction enables the series to serve as a physical and metaphorical layering of cultural references and artistic practices (Home - Galerie Max Hetzler).
Prince's process of self-appropriation—referencing his own previous works such as the "Hippie Drawings" from the early 2000s—highlights his contemplation on authorship, copyright, and the circulation of images and objects within the art world. The scribbled names of bands, singers, song titles, and lyrics found throughout the series, alongside elements like rubber bands, DVD, and CD labels, anchor the works firmly within Prince's broader artistic oeuvre, while also challenging and expanding upon his established techniques and thematic concerns (Max Hetzler Publications) (GalleriesNow.net).
The "Super Group" series, with its collage of cultural symbols, band names, and song lyrics, offers a window into Prince's exploration of identity, myth, and celebrity within American culture. By assembling these elements into new configurations, Prince creates works that are more than the sum of their parts, much like the supergroups of the music world that inspired the series. The exhibition not only continued Prince's long-standing engagement with appropriation and the questioning of cultural phenomena but also served as a reflection on his own position within the art world—a career that has often navigated the boundaries of copyright and originality (Artnet News).
Richard Prince's work, including the "Super Group" series, remains a critical examination of the ways in which cultural symbols and icons are consumed, interpreted, and repurposed within society. Through this series, Prince contributes to the ongoing dialogue around the power of images and the complex relationships between art, culture, and copyright in the contemporary world.