We've seen meme-inspired art before with the Grumpy Cat art exhibition, but Brooklyn artist Lauren Kaelin has taken it to the next level. Inspired by the Walter Benjamin (ben-ya-mean) theory that art loses value with reproduction, Kaelin flips the script by painting fine art copies of the most reproduced images we have: memes. On her cleverly-titled Tumblr page Benjameme are Grumpy Cat, IKEA monkey, Sneezing Panda, Antoine Dodson, and paintings of other popular meme characters that are in some ways better than the original memes. Check out some of our favorites above and make sure to follow Kaelin's blog for more creative meme art.
[via ABCNews]
RELATED: In Which There Is a New Art Exhibition for Grumpy Cat
RELATED: The 100 Greatest Internet Memes of All Time
