Richard here. This is a personal favorite of mine—an homage to the great American conceptual artist Barbara Kruger. She first made "I Shop Therefore I Am" in 1987. This artwork became iconic and was and still is reproduced on items such as shopping bags and t-shirts.
I first saw the painting in real life at Washington DC's Hirshhorn Museum in 1987. It always stayed with me, and we thought when online shopping was first taking over, and we were at the epicenter of that movement, it made perfect sense to evolve it to this "I Shop Online Therefore, I Am"
One of my first jobs in the mid-1990s was at a Tribeca art studio, and right across the street was Barbara Kruger's studio, so I would constantly see her on the street. I would always sense her looking at me, so much so that I would ask my co-workers if they had Barbara Kruger always staring at them when they were out on Leonard Street. I should have introduced myself but never had the nerve.
In 2013, Supreme sued the clothing brand Married to the Mob, by designer Leah McSweeney for $10 million for infringing on its red-and-white Futura logo (via. Kruger). Leah McSweeney made these items with a graphic reading "Supreme Bitch”. It became viral when Rihanna posted herself in that Supreme Bitch hat. Supreme's lawsuit seems like a hugely hypocritical move for Supreme to be suing a woman for stealing the logo Supreme stole from another woman, Barbara Kruger.
"What a ridiculous clusterfuck of totally uncool jokers," Barbara Kruger told Complex magazine when asked for her response to the lawsuit. "I make my work about this kind of sadly foolish farce. I'm waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement."
Because of this case and her comment, I think Barbara Kruger would not mind us subverting her artwork since she is the original subversion and appropriation artist. Appropriation is the fancy term for borrowing or reusing existing elements in a new work. But, did you know that post-modern appropriation artists, like the amazing Barbara Kruger, are all about denying 'originality'? Instead, they think that by incorporating already existing imagery or elements into their creations, they're re-contextualizing or appropriating the original, which gives viewers a chance to renegotiate the original's meaning in a new and relevant way.
Material: Durable, high-density foam with an ultra-thin rubber base1/16" (1.58 mm) thick