The Pictures Generation was a collective of American artists from the 1970s to 1980s who questioned established ideas about how art should represent reality. The Pictures Generation developed as a reaction to the expanding spread of mass media visuals and the growing consumerist culture. The Pictures Generation artists used photographs, advertising materials, and other visual elements as foundation for their artworks while frequently incorporating appropriation techniques for critical commentary. The Pictures Generation included prominent artists Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger and Richard Prince. Artists from the Pictures Generation reached their peak popularity in the 1980s through their recognized innovative image-making approaches. The artists investigated themes surrounding identity and gender while examining media's societal impact. Cindy Sherman gained fame for creating various self-portraits that questioned traditional female representations. Barbara Kruger used textual and visual elements to explore power dynamics in mass media while Richard Prince transformed commercial images to challenge concepts of authorship and originality. The Pictures Generation transformed contemporary art through their critical examination of the societal functions of images. These artists transformed popular visual materials through appropriation and reinterpretation to break down dominant stories and analyze media power structures. Artistic and academic thinkers studying digital era media and culture find ongoing inspiration from their work.