Copies, Remakes and Replicas
Allowed or Abused?

The act of making copies of artworks, either by the artist himself or a by a copyist, is as old as art itself. Artists in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, for example, responded to the high demand of artworks by reproducing the same painting in various compositions. By making little alterations - adding or removing figures and details - they created a more varied body of work and as a result, they could sell more paintings, without the effort of inventing new subjects. In addition, they outsourced the work to their hard-working ateliers. 
Unsurprisingly, contemporary artists like Damien Hirst and Wim Delvoye still apply this method in their art practice. Hirst invents and signs the work, but nevertheless hands the production over to his assistants. Given the high asking prices on the art market for this kind of work, the question rises if this state of affairs is acceptable or not. Moreover, are these artists only famous and popular because they are branded, or does their art really earn the title of 'high art'?
Thompson (2008) states that it may be unimportant whether a work of art is created by the hand of a famous artist when the branded artist has conceptual input and the work is associated with his name.1 The procedure by Damien Hirst can prove to be exemplary in this study. For instance, his 'dotpaintings' (multi-coloured dots on a canvas) are executed by assistants. Hirst only provides the ideas and a signature, not the skills. However, prices go through the roof at auctions. Beerkens (2007) also discusses the practice of making replicas of modern art, but in terms of reconstructing a lost or destroyed artwork and consequently does not consider it as a negative matter.2
No unequivocal answer seems readily available and the topic can be viewed from different angles and interpretations. As long as collectors and museums keep buying the work, the situation remains the same. All in all, time will tell if these artists and their work are still desirable in the future.
1 D. Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art and Auction Houses, Londen, 2008: 77.
2 L. Beerkens, Nothing but the Real Thing. Considerations on Copies, Remakes and Replicas in Modern Art, 2007 [pfd: http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/07autumn/beerkens.htm].