Artifacts are human-made objects that people use to signify their cultural affiliations. These objects take many different forms—clothes, tools, decorations, symbols, etc.—but they are all used as a way to exercise the beliefs that people hold and their ideologies about the world.

The art of the past no longer exists as it once did. Its authority is lost. In its place there is a language of images. What matters now is who uses that language for what purpose. This touches upon questions of copyright for reproduction, the ownership of art presses and publishers, the total policy of public art galleries and museums. As usually