Kermit the Frog Rings the Bell (after Martin Kippenberger), 2025, extends the artist's method of "differential practice," unfolding a concrete semiotic translation within the genealogy of appropriation in art history. The work replaces and rewrites the classic frog figure from Martin Kippenberger's 1990 piece Fred the Frog Rings the Bell with the globally prevalent pop culture icon, Kermit the Frog. This substitution is not mere imitation; it involves a homogenized extraction of visual and semiotic heritage from art history, which is then juxtaposed with everyday objects found, used, or discarded on-site within the exhibition space.
This symbolic replacement, combined with the structural juxtaposition of objects, collectively reconstructs a new conversational context. Simultaneously, the introduction of Kermit the Frog—a widely circulated Anglophone cartoon icon—also points to the prevalent phenomenon of "Anglophone consciousness" within the contemporary art world. By embedding this symbol into the site, the work partially transforms the booth into an ironic "English Corner," thereby revealing the invisible hierarchical structures among linguistic power, symbolic identification, and cultural translation within globalized art production. Beneath a humorous surface, it thus conducts a calm examination of the discursive mechanisms inherent to the art system itself.
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