Do We Really Want Judges Determining What Art 'Says'?
from the freedom-of-expression dept
There was a very big legal ruling last week having to do with copyright in the art world. It involves the artwork of Richard Prince, an appropriation artist, who took some photographs from Patrick Cariou's book Yes, Rasta, of various Rastafarians, and then used them in various paintings. There were a bunch of photographs used -- this is the comparison shot that has been used in a lot of the press coverage:
In this case, despite plenty of other lawsuits that found appropriation art to be legal, the judge ruled that this is infringing, leading many to predict a pretty massive shakeup in the modern art world, where this kind of appropriation art has become pretty common. What strikes me as most troubling is that the judge's decision appears to rest mainly on what the artist's stated intent was in creating these paintings, and deciding that since he was neither commenting on the original works nor the subjects of the images, it's no longer a protected fair use. That seems questionable. Why should the intent of the artist matter one way or the other? As law professor Peter Friedman notes in the link above:
What was Jackson Pollock's purpose in painting Lavender Mist? Van Gogh’s in painting The Irises? Haven’t we accepted by now the limitations focus on artistic intention would impose on our appreciation of art?One take away from this is that any time an artist is sued, they should just insist that the artwork they created was "commenting" on the original work, even if it wasn't. But why is that the standard? The fair use standard doesn't say anything about intent, and judging the true intent of an artist seems like a really dangerous game. Some, like Charlie Finch, are pointing out how this is a dangerous slippery slope under which judges are determining the value of artwork:
Judge Batts implied a kind of slippery slope by observing that Prince had not cut up or sectioned Cariou's pictures sufficiently, making an observer wonder whether a Mimmo Rotella standard of radical pictorial transformation would be the minimum standard for fair use.The reality is that the judge here seems to have gone beyond what fair use has said in the past, in creating this new standard. As Greg Allen warns this is a massive limiting of fair use:
Either way, having a judge as an interpreter of the meaning of art remains Kafkaesque: we can trot out the entire oeuvre of Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and a thousand other artists as violators of Judge Batts' standard.
If it stands, it would have major, sweeping, and stifling effects.That last point is also notable. It wasn't just Prince who was sued, but also the art gallery that displayed his works, which was found guilty of direct infringement for displaying and selling the works, and then also found guilty of vicarious and contributory infringement because it "had the right and ability (and perhaps even responsibility) to ensure that Prince obtained licenses." That seems like a pretty big stretch as well.
Not only would the current operating assumptions of fair use and transformative use be ratcheted way back, but the contemporary art world would be turned upside down. It would restrict both how artists appropriate, or even refer to, copyrighted work. And it would turn galleries into copyright police, with an affirmative responsibility to clear images, sources, and references for the work they show and sell.
In the end, I'm sure people will stick up for this ruling because they don't think what Richard Prince did was very good or particularly artistic. Yet, clearly, many in the art world disagree with you, as his paintings sell for extraordinarily high prices. And, in the end, shouldn't that be the determining factor? If people are willing to consider this artwork and pay for it as artwork, then what's the problem? On top of that, it seems like Cariou should have been able to capitalize on this attention himself, increasing the value of his own work.
And... speaking of Cariou's work... one question I have in all of this is how much is Cariou paying the Rastafarians that he photographed? After all, isn't he making use of their works as well? Either way, Prince has made it clear that he's appealing and has hired some powerhouse lawyers to help him out. Of course, he had to appeal quickly, because under the original ruling, all of his paintings at issue in this lawsuit were to be destroyed.
As a final word, however, I'm going to quote a chunk of copyright lawyer Ray Dowd's analysis, in which he worries about what this means for art:
Others are delighted at Prince's discomfiture. I am troubled. Fine art, truly fine art in an art gallery, is a place where a copyrighted work becomes a fetish object, a tribute, a decontextualized thing revealing a new meaning. The urinal of Marcel Duchamp. The Brillo Box of Andy Warhol. Both utilitarian objects made by others and fetishized by the artists.You should click through to read the entire Dowd piece, which includes multiple images to back up what he has to say. In the end, his point is really the key one: no one is being harmed here. No one is being fooled. Art is a form of speech, and even if you personally don't think much of it, or are upset about how the artist goes about it, is that really something for a court to decide?
And look at L.H.O.O.Q. - nothing original in the execution, but the Mona Lisa was in the public domain at the time. Prince is blatantly stealing. Plagiarists take the words of others and try to make you believe that they have crafted them. But Prince's cutouts from advertising, porn and outlaw biker magazines never misled the consumer.
But somewhere, something bothers me about shutting a highly respected fine artist down completely and burning his works when the first sale doctrine would permit him to buy a copy, modify it and resell it. When the First Amendment lets even repulsive speech be heard and the contemporary art world says it is art, I have a problem with the government burning it.
To me, an original work of fine art properly labeled as such by a new artist is almost pure speech - or in some way pure idea - even if it includes major appropriations. Things change when the artwork is widely reproduced. When the consumers are paying tens of thousands for Prince to take something no one is interested in, put his spin on it, and add value. Prince's "appropriation" added ten million dollars worth of value to a pile of books. Everyone knew he didn't create the original.
This is not a question of consumers being defrauded, these are wealthy ultrasophisticates on the cutting edge who are the purchasers - surrounded by the top art advisers and critics -if these people feel that Prince's value added is that great, what is the harm in letting them indulge, as long as Prince legally purchased the original books? In fact, Prince's prices will probably soar - scarcity and scandal drive art prices up.
In the context of music, we were just discussing how an appropriation artist like "Kutiman" was creating new artwork by pulling from YouTube. And, even some of the staunchest copyright defenders in our comments said what he was doing was fine, trying to distinguish his "creative" appropriation with "consumptive" appropriation by others. Well, here's another case of "creative" appropriation. So why isn't it allowed?
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Filed Under: appropriation art, art, copyright, culture, fair use, intent, patrick cariou, richard prince
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*YAWN*
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Derivitive?
To use the Kutiman (which I love and totally agree with as fair use) analogy, this would be the equivalent of taking a Metallica song and during the solo dubbing over me saying "Hey look at the cow!" but leaving 90% of the song in tact, AND THEN TRYING TO SELL IT!...
Kutiman basically sampled bits and pieces, even whole works, of posters to YouTube. As we've seen before, people who post their own uncopyrighted videos to youtube are basically submitting them to public domain-- as it should be. I still wouldn't look too kindly to someone who took an entire post to YouTube or any other way of submitting an artistic work to public domain, overlaying a small icon or snippit of audio, and then calling it copyrighted and trying to sell it.
Unfortunately, good luck trying to define what would be generally "acceptable" use of existing works-- even before we involve lawyers and copyright holders.
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Intent means everything. Two different people kill individuals, one does it while driving down the street and the victom runs out in front of their car, the other takes a gun and randomly walks up to someone and blows their head off.
Both are dead, should both go to prison? Should both go free? What is the difference? Pretty much intent.
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Re: Derivitive?
Not really a close comparison. The entire media changed. This would be more akin to listening to a Metallica song and then transcribing it - with some errors and some modifications - onto a stone tablet with a chisel.
I'm not sure how I feel about doing that. I wouldn't - in part because I think most Metallica music is pretty bad, but I can see that some people would think that using their lyrics could be questionable - at least without attributing them. However, part of copyright is the idea that the use of the copy in some way takes away from the market for the original. Selling stone tablets (presumably for decoration) would be a completely different market than Metallica is selling in.
Back off of the song / tablet thing for a second and you get the original topic. A guy with some photographs to sell a book is using copyright to prevent the production and sale of paintings created based on these photographs. Did the paintings harm the book sales (probably the opposite), the the paintings harm the market for the photographs (once again, probably the opposite).
It seems very questionable to me.
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If you're REALLY ready to back that argument, then you'd better be ready for the flood of 'Innocent Infringer' defenses.
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The only thing they guy has a hope on is to claim parody, because the resulting "painting" is a joke.
Mike, why do you fall for this stuff over and over again?
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I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
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Any time an artist is asked what their intent was they should respond with, "My intent was to affect my audience." When asked what kind of effect they wanted to have on their audience, they should respond with, "I can't answer that. the only person who can answer that is the person experiencing my art."
The artist only has so much control over how their work is perceived, and because of this their intent becomes irrelevant (in time, if not immediately).
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Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
I am so original. I am an artist. COW!!!
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Warhol
The way I see it, if Prince changed the image enough that people want to buy it over the original, then that proves it is transformative. Otherwise, Cariou could just sell his original. Let the free market decide, as long as there is no confusion.
It is similar to the difference between referencing a work and plagiarizing. If I take a paragraph from another writer and change a word in every sentence, it is not plagiarism.
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The only thing they guy has a hope on is to claim parody, because the resulting "painting" is a joke.
As expected, you focused on your subjective opinion of the artwork.
Mike, why do you fall for this stuff over and over again?
Um. Your reading comprehension seems to get worse week by week. I specifically said that I'm not at all impressed by the work, and I agree, from my perspective, it's pretty weak.
But, clearly there's a market for it, and people like it. So why are you complaining about it?
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Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
As long as it is clear who is who, the market will decide where the money will go, and the market is always right.
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Does it?
Police has permission to use deadly force to neutralise a suspect that threatens human life. In those situations where deadly force is truly required, their intention when they shoot is pretty much killing the suspect. In fact, if I recall correctly, one of the shooting techniques calls for two shots on the torso and one on the head, which virtually guarantees a kill.
According to your simplistic view, that officer should be arrested, even though his actions may have saved dozens of hostages and his use of force was adequate.
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I think he does. I think he's just pointing out that it was a really bad analogy.
The point was that intent matters. The point was not that infringement is like killing
Do you think intent matters in art? I don't. I find it worrisome that someone like you would choose to determine what matters in art.
You're not too bright, are you?
Considering his argument made a lot more sense than yours...
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Re: Warhol
But I will say...
4 chan is going to be PISSED if someone comes in screaming about dmca notices and copyright takedowns of art...
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Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
More importantly, is the COW version original enough to qualify as a work? I did it in seconds (a few keystrokes). Is that enough?
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Re: Warhol
If I take a paragraph from another writer and change a word in every sentence, it is not plagiarism.
I hope you teacher things that when you hand in your next paper :)
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The judge didn't use your simplistic logic. If he had that would have been less troubling - at least we would have known where we stood. The problem is that the judge is using value judgements to determine infringement and that sets a dangerous precedent. In simple terms infringement should be determined by objective factors, noot things like quality or intent.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsJ3J10s0AU
Meaningful part starts at 4:20 (don't let me keep you from watching the whole kickass waste of bullets tho)
Guess those raporists were infringing on something, eh?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
The guy you are replying to had a point to make, and he made it. You had a point to make, and you made it by appropriating his post and making very minor changes. Both of these were valid things to say and your right to free speech means you can make your point even though it is just "stealing" the words of someone else and adding "COW".
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Artistic intent and criminal intent are quite different concepts.
Transferring your analogy back to the subject of the post and you would have Richard Prince accidentally painting a picture that resembled the photograph vs deliberately copying it. That use of intent would be quite clear and untroubling - and also quite distinct from the present situation.
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Yes
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That being said, you couldn't even come up with your own statement. You fail.
And if the audience is you, we're so much better off with a judge.
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I think it's actually that you write better pieces, and by that I mean you are more verbose and try to hedge off these types of ridiculous arguments in your postings week by week. That leaves these trolls no choice but to get crazier and crazier in how they attack you...
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Your reading comprehension seems to get worse week by week. I specifically said that I'm not at all impressed by the work, and I agree, from my perspective, it's pretty weak.
My reading comprehension is just fine, thanks. What I am pointing out isn't the subjective qualities of the piece (which you seem to think I am focused on) but rather than you seem to fall for very marginal arguments of what is art or what is copyright violation. Being impressed with the world isn't really important (except as I mentioned in judging the efforts that went into it), but looking at the almost complete duplication of the original picture, it's pretty hard to see much original going on here. Which makes me wonder why you think it is anything other than just a direct copy, plus 3 minutes effort (and actually, a cut out of another picture, likely also not used with permission).
It really doesn't matter if there is a market for it. As someone else mentioned, you could take something, add the word COW on the back of it, and call it "new". But is it really?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
But of course the AC doesn't make it. And probably just as well. Cariou's work is obviously different from Prince's. Nobody is going to be fooled into buying the other.
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Lol. No it didn't. Clearly we see a TD fanboy pattern emerging here again.
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Waste of time...
Determination of whats it's good for is unnecessary and just causes problems. Let alone, how many times great pieces were/have been used is boiling pots like family guy etc just for the unknowing to find out he did not create those bits ALL by himself is just as important.
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Re: Re: Derivitive?
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So while it might be trivial to reproduce this piece of art, it may very well not have been trivial to create it. And isn't the disparity between the effort to create art and reproduce it the thing that has copyright maximalists in a tizzy?
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Not recreate - create. There is nothing here. Two copied pictures are about 99% of the new "work". Just on the surface, there is nothing here that is particularly new. What was created, exactly?
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Seems like a lot more was required to create that painting than the original photograph.
Being impressed with the world isn't really important (except as I mentioned in judging the efforts that went into it), but looking at the almost complete duplication of the original picture, it's pretty hard to see much original going on here. Which makes me wonder why you think it is anything other than just a direct copy, plus 3 minutes effort (and actually, a cut out of another picture, likely also not used with permission).
Similarly, the original photograph was a complete duplication of the original scene. It's pretty hard to see much original going on here. Which makes me wonder why you think it's more important than Prince's work, which actually took that scene and did something with it?
It really doesn't matter if there is a market for it. As someone else mentioned, you could take something, add the word COW on the back of it, and call it "new". But is it really?
Sure seems new to me. But the bigger question, really, is whether or not that did any harm to the original work? I don't see how it did.
And yet you wish to stomp out a form of expression, because you don't think it's "new" enough? Really?
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Let's see. Photographer has to travel to a place, find a subject, get him in context and take that image, carefully framing it, dealing with light, time of day, color, and all sort of other things in it's composition.
The "painting" appears to be nothing more than a copy, with a copy of part of someome else's photograph as the "guitar" and a few squiggles from photoshop. I think I know which one took more effort, and I know which one is original and which one is just a rip off.
Similarly, the original photograph was a complete duplication of the original scene. It's pretty hard to see much original going on here.
So you are are suggesting that a photograph is not unique and isn't art? Wow. I think you need to call the mothership to beam you back to earth. You have truly lost it.
And yet you wish to stomp out a form of expression, because you don't think it's "new" enough?
It isn't to stomp it out. It is to suggest the the copycat "artist" might want to work with materials that have been approved for use by the true artists, and not just randomly taking other people's work without permission and claiming it as their own. if the "artist" was a little more original, or a little more considerate of others, his work, however lame we find it, could exist without being "stomped out". You are attempting to set up a black and white choice here where reality allows for many other avenues for this to go. It isn't yes or no, but perhaps "do it the right way". I think some people would call your question a strawman, no?
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Because it shouldn't matter what the intent is if the use of a work is fair. In law I understand there is the concept of a guilty mind, but it usually applies to crimes where it matters whether you were aware of the consequences of your actions. In copyright the consequences of your actions aren't in question, as if you claim fair use then the consequences of your actions are the same as if you claimed you were trying to rip the copyright holder off.
What would happen if you copied something but were ignorant of copyright law and could neither claim fair use nor intent to infringe? It would seem that the court would to have to judge whether ignorance of the law is a valid defence, despite the fact that if you weren't ignorant of the law then you might have claimed fair use.
On the whole, I cannot see the point of applying the concept of a guilty mind to this case. I would be interested if someone could point me to another law that uses the concept in the same way.
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Which is why instead of being an artist, and your life's work being creative and contributing to the betterment of art, you're a technerd with an MBA who runs a blog about piracy and things that dumb down art.
But we knew that already.
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I wish I could have summed it up so simply.
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God, the stupidity on this blog is never ending.
Why do you geeks think you can talk about art, and sound intelligent?
Go write some code, nerdboy, and leave the heavy lifting to those who were actually born with the gift of artistic talent.
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Re: Re: Re: Derivitive?
If you took a metallica album burned it to cinders and used the ash to spell out the word cow, I might buy that. If its one of their newer albums you will certainly be adding value.
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Would you be OK with this piece if proper attribution were given? If not, then how does it effect the issue at all and why bring it up?
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I would suggest that money isn't everything, but I'm pretty sure the Anon would disagree with me.
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I don't always "get" that kind of art either, but when I see just how meaningful it is to so many people who live and breathe art, I have the humility to believe that they understand something I don't.
Yes, you could do it. But you wouldn't have done it. And Prince did do it. Effort is not the point of art, choice is.
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I could turd on a piece of paper, take it to a gallery and promptly be ejected from the premises by security, if not arrested. On the other hand, Damien Hirst could turd on a different piece of paper, take it to the same gallery and have all the art critics come in their pants.
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Which is why instead of being an artist, and your life's work being creative and contributing to the betterment of art, you're a technerd with an MBA who runs a blog about piracy and things that dumb down art.
I see. So, intent matters in art. And what was the "intent" behind the top selling single last week?
What was the intent behind your last flop of an album?
Do you really think consumers care?
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Painter has to look through photos, find a subject, decide on a new context to put it in and modify that image, carefully choosing minimalist additions for the effect he wants, dealing with elements of design like balance and contrast and all sorts of other things in its composition.
So you are are suggesting that a photograph is not unique and isn't art? Wow. I think you need to call the mothership to beam you back to earth. You have truly lost it.
Can't have it both ways. The fact is art always involves elements of appropriation from somewhere, so you can either believe no art is original or all art is. Accept it, or I swear to god I am going to go full-Goldblum on that mothership of yours.
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Or what about The Scream? Or the Sagrada Familia?
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However there are quite a few that use the same non-arguments, rude one liners, flawed logic, horrible analogizes, and the whole "LOL, FUD, ASTROTURF, unsupported statement, duh." That it feels like one guy, it seems worse in a couple other posts from today but heres an example from this comments section:
"Why do you geeks think you can talk about art, and sound intelligent?
Go write some code, nerdboy, and leave the heavy lifting to those who were actually born with the gift of artistic talent."
"That being said, you couldn't even come up with your own statement. You fail.
And if the audience is you, we're so much better off with a judge."
"Really, you don't understand how analogies work? Sheesh. The point was that intent matters. The point was not that infringement is like killing. You're not too bright, are you?"
"Lol. No it didn't. Clearly we see a TD fanboy pattern emerging here again."
"I know, it's amazing, but some people don't actually bath in the techdirt koolaid, and are able to consider alternate points of view."
Different snowflakes, same hostile close minded tone.
Maybe it is just a whole bunch of assholes who can not back there argument with evidence and unique points of view instead of just insulting people who they don't agree with. Although after reading THAT AC's comments in every post for the last good long while, it really feels like the same person with maybe one AC i am wrongly attributing.
But whatever if you don't wanna be mistaken for an ignorant close minded asstroll raptorphile maybe you should come up with a name, be careful not to infringe. Dont worry I licensed mine from LucasArts.
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Oh wait...
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This is a different type of intent. The use of intent in criminal cases centres around situations in which a bad consequence has indisputably happened (someone has been injured or killed) and the court is trying to determine whether the plaintiff intended the outcome or whether it was just an accident.
In copyright law in general (and in the present case in particular) what is under dispute is whether the bad thing has happened at all In that case it make no sense at all to use intent as a criterion. It's like saying that because the attacker didn't intend injury - therefore no injury can have occurred. That is nonsense.
In copyright cases one should look at whether the plaintiff has actually suffered any damage. Knowing the intentions of the defendant doesn't help at all with that.
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clear case of copyright huting culture
This is a clear case of culture taking a hit by law and government.
Andy Warhol is rolling in his grave.
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I like the "fountain". I don't know exactly why, but I find it amusing. But all Duchamp did was take an already existing urinal and titled it "fountain". This guy is trying to do the same thing. He took already existing pictures and did a little photoshop job. We can argue about his photoshop skills, but I think that argument is missing the point. It doesn't matter whether or not he did a good job, as far as whether or not his work is art. He did it as art, and some people view it as art. It is art.
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Re: Re: Re: Derivitive?
A weak form of art (in my opinion ) but art none the less.
And I do see the intent of using Metallica as the art form.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
Better yet, I don't know what this person's intent was in creating it, and it doesn't matter. So it also shoots down the intent argument. Bravo! Or, neener neener, depending on what you were going for. ;-)
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
Why does that make it not art?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
Something is art if its creator describes it as art. These days there is no other criterion. It may be very bad art but still art. Tracy Emin's bed, Damien Hurst's half animals, John Cage's silence all fall in the same category in my mind. (Although the Fast Show's "Jazz reworking of John Cage" was brilliant!)
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There is no content in John Cage's silence....
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You may be right - and if the judge had used your reasoning to come to his conclusion that would have been fine - but you miss the point.
The judge didn't use the degree of duplication as his criterion - he used the declared intent of the artist.
It doesn't matter which side of the argument you take, this should still trouble you. Doesn't it bother you that (apparently) Prince could have "got away with it" by simply declaring an intent to parody?
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Re: Re: Warhol
Which brings us back to 'do we really want judges determining what art is?'.
"I hope you teacher things that when you hand in your next paper :)"
I'm unsure of the parent's point, but it seems worth noting that if they referenced the original as the base of their work then it wouldn't be plagiarism (although it may still fail for being unoriginal).
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Re: Re:
I would be interested to know how you worked that out. Also, how many do you believe share your point of view?
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
Yes! First correct thing I've ever seen you post here. Good job.
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Re: Re: Re:
I made you An ART!
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Re: Re: Re:
Yes, it's worse than you think for you guys.
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Re: Re:
Also:
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Officer-Invovled-Shooting-114431389.html
I actually agree with you, that intent shouldn't be a consideration in art. But if it is to be, the underlying premise for intent in both homicide and copyright should be the intent to cause harm. While his art is questionable, I don't think they've any reason to believe his intent was to cause harm.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Snark is all well and good but debates are even better when you can explain your side succinctly.
*Thumbs up*
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Re: Re: Re:
I would be interested to know how you worked that out. Also, how many do you believe share your point of view
Since I actually know this, I can say with certainty that the original claim of 20 is flat out wrong. There are four very active ACs, who are generally easily distinguishable by their styles (amusingly, all four used to use names, but after their key points were debunked repeatedly, they all shifted to AC).
There are another 5 or so ACs who show up intermittently and take similar anti-Techdirt viewpoints.
So, at best, you could argue that there are 10, but that's a stretch. It's certainly not 10 active ones.
There are also a few named users who disagree with us, who I'm not including in this calculation.
The idea that there are 20 such active AC commenters is simply incorrect.
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Re:
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
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Re: Re:
Why?
Why is the audience so important?
This navel-gazing self-congratulatory 'Fans Rule!' attitude might seem obvious to you, but I am yet to see a compelling argument for it. Artists need an audience to get famous; they don't need an audience to make art.
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Re: Re: Re:
The only intent for an artist, regardless of the medium, is that of expression. That expression can be of any number of things: emotional, political, social commentary, parody, etc...
Now, some artists specifically create for the purpose of soliciting public reaction; they like being controversial.
The problem with having any one person deciding what a piece of art 'says' is that even among artistic 'experts', you can (and will usually) get differing opinions, and they are just that: opinions.
And finally, all people are consumers of art, even those who don't create it. Just because they don't create art, doesn't mean they can't appreciate it and have opinions about it. If you are the AC I think you are, your entire livelihood depends on us 'stupid geeks' consuming your artists' work.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
I have trouble determining the differing styles, apart from perhaps the formatting that one seems to use. Usually if I notice something familiar it's because I'm having a feeling of deja vu; such as when someone argued about anonymous and pseudonymous. Generally I just accept that I can't tell the difference and limit inferences to stuff in the same thread.
All that said, it seemed obvious even to me that there aren't anywhere near twenty regular commenters making the same arguments anonymously.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Obviously, I can't see the obvious there because I don't see how attribution would necessarily be linked to permission. For example, someone could copy something and attribute it, but without permission.
Given that I don't know of a necessary link between permission and attribution, I was wondering what bearing it had on the issue.
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Re: Re: Re:
You are absolutely correct, and if the artist creates a work and keeps it to himself, then would there even be a controversy over whether this is "art" or not? No. But he did so there is.
So what causes the controversy? Is it the fact that there is an audience that interprets the art and sees some value in the work, or is it the artist's intent in creating the work?
It's a shame you seem to have ignored the rest of my post; specifically the end of it: The artist only has so much control over how their work is perceived, and because of this their intent becomes irrelevant (in time, if not immediately).
I think that, and your own post answers the question of why the audience is so important. The audience (your "fans") do rule because they determine if a piece of artwork becomes famous and can make a living off of art.
The moment art is consumed by an audience it becomes subject to the opinion(s) of the audience, and the artists intent immediately becomes less important.
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Re: Re: Re:
The moment art is consumed by an audience it becomes subject to the opinion(s) of the audience, and the artists intent immediately becomes less important (to the audience if not to the artist himself).
It's not a terribly difficult concept to grasp.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I am finally starting to understand the appropriation argument
Good eye!
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Re: Re: Re: Derivitive?
And going from your cow example. Take a Metallica CD and melt it into a small statue of a cow and I think you have transformed it - even if it still has the album art and technically still has the music. Someone shopping for a Metallica CD is not going to be dissuaded by my new statue.
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Re: Re: Re:
Police very rarely shoot to disarm. They want to disarm by threatening to fire, and if that fails and they start shooting, they're more or less shooting to kill.
My understanding is they aim for "center mass" or the torso. This gives the best chance of hitting the target and also the best chance of hitting something vital that will stop the threat, either through death or crippling injury. In rare cases a sniper might shoot a weapon out of someone's hand (yes it's real, I've seen videos of it happening), but that's by far the exception.
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ACs making stuff up and presenting it as fact. So, par for the course!
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What he said!
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That's ok, I figured it out. ;)
"I think that, and your own post answers the question of why the audience is so important. The audience (your "fans") do rule because they determine if a piece of artwork becomes famous and can make a living off of art."
I know that the audience 'rules' from a commercial standpoint. But consider: does anyone above the age of 12 think that fame=quality? I mean, most adults that I know realize that there is more to, say, music than the celebrity status of it's creator. It is this 'more' that I am interested in, and it is neither increased nor diminished by the artist's fame or popularity.
Maybe it's because most (not all) of the music that I am interested in has never been popular. Maybe it's because I have heard one too many shallow twerps say that Bach is boring and only stupid old people like that shit. Maybe it's because I know that skimming any history of art or music or literature will reveal dozens of names of people whose work changed the nature of their chosen art form forever, but who still died in obscurity. But whatever the reason, I am really starting to get sick of hearing about the importance of the audience. Acknowledging their economic importance is one thing. Pandering to their bored impatience, and pretending that it is some sort of instinctive insight of vital epistemic import, is quite another.
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"In copyright cases one should look at whether the plaintiff has actually suffered any damage."
One of the points brought up in the trial as reported in the Wall Street Journal was:
"A gallery owner who had planned to exhibit the original Cariou photos balked after the Prince show because, as she told the court, 'she did not want to exhibit work which had been done already at another gallery.' Mr. Cariou's work hadn't just been lifted, the judge ruled, but 'usurped.'"
Thus, by that standard of copyright law, the original photographer had suffered damage as was ruled by the judge.
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Amazing! I guess it was bound to happen eventually. It's still a little questionable IMO to base a ruling on what the artist said he was trying to do. As Mike said, it just means many artists will now say "it's parody" or "it's commentary on the original" or whatever answer gets them aquitted. Many of course will not and will still give an honest answer (I hope).
Just one more problem that would be greatly mitigated by short copyright terms.
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re: Anonymous Coward
Nah, couldn't be.
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Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
This is entirely incorrect or...worse...deliberately dishonest. In fact, the first test applied to determine fair use is entirely concerned with intent.
- Is Prince's theft and reuse 'intended' as commentary on Cariou's work? No, by Prince's admission in court his intent had nothing to do with commentary on Cariou.
- Is it 'intended' for commercial use? Do we have to go there?
Let's dispense with the intent issue, it's disingenuous at best. Support Prince in this matter if you must, but let's be clear at least that intent is not only a legitimate concern in this matter; intent is a critical concern.
The judge ruled, quite correctly, that the intent of the defendants was clear, unambiguous, and a violation of copyright not subject to protection under the fair use doctrine.
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Re: Warhol
Warhol couldn't work then either. He was sued, multiple times, and settled every time. He, at least, was an honest thief who paid his debts to the people he stole from when he was called on it.
The ruling is absolutely correct (IANAL, and this is my opinion only) in that Prince's use of Cariou's work fails the tests of fair use conclusively. Don't like the law? Fine, work to change it and declare that photographers have no rights to their work at all if you feel that way...but as written and settled in precedent, the ruling is correct.
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Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
It's actually "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;"
So is there a difference between "purpose" and "intent"? I think you could argue that purpose could be decided without reference to the artist. For example, if the artist were unknown, one could still make some kind of determination of the use's purpose, though the artist's intent would be impossible.
Whether that's a legally significant distinction I don't know.
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Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
In this specific case, not wanting to get into a semantics session, I would suggest that purpose and intent can function as synonyms.
i.e. "Is the purpose of Prince's use of Cariou's images to serve as a commentary on them?" instead of "Is Prince's theft and reuse intended as commentary on Cariou's work?" or "Was the purpose of the work primarily commercial?" instead of "Is it intended for commercial use?"
In either use case, the answers are still clear an unambiguous; Prince himself states the use is not commentary, and it's most assuredly commercial (I think it's safe to say that the 16+ million in cash and trades is not an unintended consequence of Prince's deep drive to make important art.).
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Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
No. They cannot. They are not synonyms at all. Purpose of the work is not about the intent of the artist, but the overall "purpose" of the work: is it art, is it reporting, etc.
There is nothing in the fair use standard that says that it needs to comment on the earlier work. That's made up. It is a part of the test for whether or not something is a parody, which is one way in which work may be fair use, but saying it must "comment on" the original work is a massive rewriting of fair use law.
In either use case, the answers are still clear an unambiguous; Prince himself states the use is not commentary, and it's most assuredly commercial
Being a commercial work does not exclude a fair use argument.
The judge here was wrong. Very wrong. And many lawyers all seem to agree that the ruling will likely be overturned on appeal.
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Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Taking something that doesn't belong to you is...what? We can fancy up the language all we want but when Prince himself states in interviews that he steals work, and when T.S Elliot's quotes concerning theft are used as defenses for appropriation, I feel no compunction about using the term myself.
I think harping on the use of that word is a rather thin deflection away from the actual topic though, isn't it? Of course I have an agenda, I agree with the ruling and am defending it. No different than someone who vehemently disagrees with the outcome continuing to call the use of the images "fair" after a court has decided otherwise.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Yes. They can. In a specific situation and context if two words have like meanings they are, in that instance, synonymous. In any event, I thought I specifically tried to avoid a semantics debate...so, on I merrily go.
For your reading pleasure, Title 17.107 of the US Code (a snip thereof, since the 4 pronged test is what we are dancing around here):
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(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
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You may continue to argue that "intent" and "purpose" are not synonymous as pertains to section (1) above, if you wish. If something is intended to be educational, it's purpose is to educate...if something is intended to be commercial, it's purpose is to...ok, I'll move on.
You are in fact correct in that a work which appropriates copyrighted material may not fail the fair use test solely due to its commercial nature, it is however, of significant importance as the rest of the test is applied to a work. I'll concede that my language was too strong on that point...however:
- The work is commercial, it is not...by Prince's own statements...designed as parody or commentary on Cariou's work, nor is it a text or educational piece using an appropriate snippet for teaching purposes.
- The "amount and subatantiality" of the appropriated work is vast. 41 works copied in whole or in part and made, in instances, almost the entirety of the piece Prince shows.
- The effect of the use on Cariou's own market was also dealt with in court, a show of his own taken off the table by a gallery as a direct result of Prince's show.
The failure of Prince in this instance to get over the bar of the fair use test is staggering. Frankly, I was amazed at pundits who declared he would win with ease. It's about time that fair use was enforced at this level. And stay away from using Warhol as a defense...he was sued multiple times and at least he was bright enough to settle up before anything ever got to court.
Prince and Company took a ludicrous, arrogant stance and got slapped for it. About damned time.
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Semantics, purpose/intent
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Roget:
purpose
noun
1. The proper activity of a person or thing: function, job, role, task. See do
2. What one intends to do or achieve: aim, ambition, design, end, goal, intent, intention, mark, meaning, object, objective, point, target, view, why. Idioms: end in view, why and wherefore. See planned, purpose
3. Unwavering firmness of character, action, or will: decidedness, decision, decisiveness, determination, firmness, purposefulness, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, toughness, will, willpower. See certain, strong
verb
To have in mind as a goal or purpose: aim, contemplate, design, intend, mean1, plan, project, propose, target. Regional: mind. See planned, purpose
_______________________
thesaurus.com:
Main Entry: purpose
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: intention, meaning, aim
Synonyms: ambition, animus, aspiration, big idea, bourn, calculation, design, desire, destination, determination, direction, dream, drift, end, expectation, function, goal, hope, idea, intendment, intent, mecca, mission, object, objective, plan, point, premeditation, principle, project, proposal, proposition, prospect, reason, resolve, scheme, scope, target, ulterior motive, view, whatfor, where one's headed, whole idea, why and wherefore, whyfor, will, wish
________________________
Can we get past that and deal with the issue at hand?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Cite two?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
You're not really saying that settling out of court is indicative of the merits of the case, are you?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Blue links in the article go to numerous articles discussing how the judge got this wrong.
Not that it matters. You'll just claim those lawyers are wrong. But they're pretty respected in the field.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Mike, that's pretty assumptive. I've certainly kept my tone civil, and when directly contradicted I've either conceded (my taking too strong a tone on the commercial aspect of the test) or proven myself and cited source while staying fact-based.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
Of course I am saying that settling out of court is a comment on the relative merits of a case.
These were not just nuisance suits (have you researched the topic of Warhol, copyrights, and suits at all or are you now just resorting to verbal sparring without an iota of fact in an attempt, again, to spin away from the actual topic?) and he settled them by surrendering original works. He was hardly unknown at the time, could certainly have mounted aggressive defenses without straining his wallet, and chose instead to settle. Let's not suppose it was due to Andy Warhol not wanting publicity...please.
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Oh by the way...
I might be expecting too much, but I do expect some measure of civility...even between people who publicly come down on two sides of an issue as emotion-filled as this one has proven to be in the art community.
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Citations, lawyers, anybody?
I would have assumed that the guy who runs the place and who tells me to go the "numerous blue links" you say point to lawyers explaining why this case will be overturned on appeal would have at least followed one of them to see if in fact there was a lawyer at the other end saying "The judge erred in application of the law here, here, and here...and the case will be overturned on appeal for that reason."
I've just gone through the thread again, in its entirety, and there is not a single lawyer in it or its links supporting your "The judge here was wrong. Very wrong. And many lawyers all seem to agree that the ruling will likely be overturned on appeal." comment. I'll ask again for you to cite references to back up your claim, or withdraw it.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
That's a ridiculous claim to make. Many lawsuits are settled to avoid the tremendous cost of defending them, not because the suit has merit.
These were not just nuisance suits
Those particular suits may have been completely meritorious. But the fact that they were settled in no way proves that. I'm not saying they were nuisance cases, because I haven't looked into it and I don't have any reason to believe they were. All I'm saying is it's foolish to assume they were strong cases simply because Warhol settled.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
It's hardly a ridiculous claim to make nasch, and you saying it certainly doesn't make it so. Warhol was certainly not in that category of people at the time who would have needed to worry about the costs of mounting a defense and defending against a completely frivolous lawsuit...having it tossed as such...would have made the statement that there was nothing there. It wasn't done, it leads to a public perception that there was something to the suits.
Let's just go for the obvious here; that Warhol settled those suits has kept alive the notion and perception that he willfully infringed for over 45 years.
And for the record, since you seem to prefer the nits over the actual topic, nowhere in my comments did I say the cases against Warhol were strong. They were sufficient to not be dismissed as frivolous without mounting a defense against them, and they were of sufficient merit to make settling them out of court a worthy goal.
You may not think you would not defend yourself against a lawsuit that publicly states your work belongs to someone else and that what you've publicly claimed as yours is theirs...but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that since it's never happened to you have absolutely no idea what you would do.
All you seem to have to say is opinion-based...and you keep spinning from one thing to pick at me over to the next. I suspect you're one of the people on the net who just want to argue...the topic doesn't matter, if there's a nit to pick you'll pick it...and not worry at all that you are completely ignorant of the actual topic.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fundamental issue with the reasoning here...
And your saying it's not ridiculous doesn't make it so. So we're back to arguing on the merits.
Warhol was certainly not in that category of people at the time who would have needed to worry about the costs of mounting a defense and defending against a completely frivolous lawsuit.
That's right, which lends more credence to the position that the suits had merit.
Let's just go for the obvious here; that Warhol settled those suits has kept alive the notion and perception that he willfully infringed for over 45 years.
Certainly, and this is something copyright and patent holders rely on often.
And for the record, since you seem to prefer the nits over the actual topic, nowhere in my comments did I say the cases against Warhol were strong.
Hey what do you know, nowehere did I say they were weak! It's almost like that's not what we're talking about! ;-)
They were sufficient to not be dismissed as frivolous without mounting a defense against them
Maybe I'm missing something, but how do you get a frivolous suit dismissed without mounting a defense?
they were of sufficient merit to make settling them out of court a worthy goal.
This is just repeating the same claim again. You're saying that settling out of court implies something about the merit of the case. It does not. It is quite possible for someone to make a cost-benefit analysis and decide it's better to settle without even considering the merit of the case. And it happens a lot.
You may not think you would not defend yourself against a lawsuit that publicly states your work belongs to someone else and that what you've publicly claimed as yours is theirs.
Why do you even bring this up? I never said anything about what I would do, or even what someone else should do.
All you seem to have to say is opinion-based.
Are you saying my factual claim that it's a common occurrance for people to settle lawsuits without regard to their merit is false? Because you're living in denial if you are.
I suspect you're one of the people on the net who just want to argue.
I do like to argue, but you're slipping into ad hominem territory here. Besides which, it takes two to argue. If the "nit" is not worth arguing about, why are you doing it?
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Excellent point...
The first comment you've made in this dialogue that I wholeheartedly support. This series of tangential little back and forths is not what I came to this forum to discuss, it's not relevant to the topic, and it's unlikely to ever enlighten either of us or cause either of us to modify an opinion.
As we (Mike included) have never even managed to put the "Purpose equals Intent" discussion to bed, let alone continue a meaningful discussion on the issue of "Cariou v Prince, et al" and it's impact on the art world, I don't see any reason to continue on here.
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Um, since that would allow sales of the most exacting copies, no.
Its a big reveal that this person takes a 'if we can make money' of of other people's work approach.
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