Archive for the 'Legal' Category
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Big Week for Fairey Amidst Growing Controversy
Art of Elysium’s 2010 Heaven Gala (Image via Art of Elysium)
It wouldn’t be a week without some sort of news from the Shepard Fairey camp, and this one is jam packed.
Fairey was named Visionary of the Year and lent design and decoration to children’s charity The Art of Elysium’s 2010 Annual Heaven Gala (pictured above). Fairey is participating in their annual benefit auction, and has donated several items to the fundraising event. The most exciting lot is a personal portrait sitting with the artist. The winning bidder will be entitled to a visit with Fairey for a photo shoot, which the artist will use to create a one of a kind 30″ X 44″ mixed media canvas. The prize is valued at $30-$40,000 for the in person sitting and final artwork (or $20-$30,000 if photos are sent). Other lots include unique 40″ x 60″ canvas depicting his Burmese Monk image, estimated at $20,000, and a rather quirky one of a kind collaged 7 foot lamp, valued at $7,500 (both pictured below). Both the portrait sitting and Burmese Monk can be bid on live via CharityBuzz until March 4, 12pm EST. If interested in the lamp, download an absentee bid form here
The opening of the third and final stop of his museum retrospective, Supply and Demand, set record attendance numbers at the Cincinatti Contemporary Arts Center this past week. Naturally, while in town, Fairey and crew were also out making their mark on the streets. (Lots more photos of the exhibition preparation, opening celebration, and outdoor campaign at the end of this post.)
(All museum and street images via Obey Clothing)
Next, Fairey’s design firm, Studio Number One, has lent their hand to titling sequences for the new Basquiat feature film, which can be seen in the trailer below.
Finally, the controversy over Fairey’s Obama portrait continues. The artist is now the subject of a federal grand jury criminal probe. Authorities are investigating whether Fairey violated federal laws prohibiting evidence tampering and perjury in connection to his copyright battle with the Associated Press. In October the artist released a public statement admitting, “in an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images.” As noted by Copyrights and Campaigns, the criminal investigation hinges on whether or not Fairey (along with his wife) violated 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)and 1621. Section 1512 makes it a crime to “alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the integrity or availability of the object for use in an official proceeding,” while section 1621 declares that any person who “willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe to be true…is guilty of perjury and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”
Fairey has filed an injunction hoping to postpone the civil suit with AP. The injunction argues
“Plaintiffs submit that there is a compelling case for postponement. Mr. Fairey is now the subject of a criminal investigation…It appears that the AP is, at minimum, encouraging and supporting that criminal investigation. Mr. Fairey’s criminal defense counsel believes that a deposition at this time would prejudice him and impair council’s ability to properly represent Mr. Fairey. Therefor, if a deposition does take place while the criminal investigation is pending, counsel would advise Mr. Fairey to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”
While we here at TAC have supported Shepard’s fair use claims in creating his Obama portrait (which now sits in the National Portrait Gallery), we will wait for the facts to further develop before weighing in on the separate criminal investigation, and confine our comments to reporting the findings as they emerge.
Read on for more pictures from Cincinnati opening night and installation Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Rubell Collection to Expand to D.C.
The recently sold Randall School building was purchased from the by the Rubells in partnership with the Telesis real estate firm from the Corcoran School and Museum. The joint venture will see the site developed into a new Rubell museum, a hotel, and private residencies. (Image via)
Famed Miami based collectors Don and Mira Rubell have just announced plans to open up a new museum in Wasington D.C. to showcase their ever expanding collection of contemporary art. The location will serve as a satellite to their Miami museum, and was purchased for $6.5 million from Corcoran College and Gallery of Art in partnership with real estate investment firm, Telesis. Part of the building will also be developed into a hotel and private residences.
This isn’t the Rubell’s first foray into the D.C. area. In 2002, the couple bought the Capitol Skyline Hotel. The seven story building was designed by their friend, architect Morris Lapidus, known for the Fontainebleau Hotel and other Miami Beach properties. Around the same time, they began focusing on D.C. artists. “The reason we even bothered to find a business [in D.C.] is that the art is amazing,” noted Mera Rubell in a December interview with Art in America. “A hotel is a natural place to create a kind of home. I want artists there—it’s exciting for my existence here whenever I’m here.”
(Image: Jenny Yang via Art in America)
The Corcoran is slated to host an exhibition organized by and culled from the Rubell’s collection. 30 Americans focuses on African American artists in the Rubell’s personal collection and was first on view at their private Miami museum in December of 2008. Last week, Tyler Green’s Modern Art Notes raised concern over the arrangement. Clarifying that works in the exhibit are owned by the Rubell family and not by their foundation, he notes:
“The last line of the Washington Post story on the deal is a classic case of burying the lede: “Officials said the exhibition is not related to the sale.” Really? When an art-museum-and-school is preparing to exhibit a family’s private collection at the same time it is cutting a real estate deal with the owners of that collection (and curator(s) of the show), the arrangement deserves significantly more journalistic examination than a toss-off at the end of a story.”
Spokespersons for the Corcoran affirm the exhibit and property sale are not related. Yet, if the recent hoopla over the New Museum’s upcoming exhibit of museum trustee Dakis Joannou’s personal collection is waranted, perhaps the Rubell’s dealings with the Corcoran are also worth further examination.
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Pot-Art :: Warhol Foundation + Paul Morrissey Sued For Torture
Director Paul Morrissey is also named in the lawsuit against the Warhol Foundation
A family is suing the Andy Warhol Foundation for $300,000 in damages, claiming the art icon tortured their late father when he was 14 years old while filming him smoking pot for a short silent film. The lawsuit argues that the Foundation, along with director, Paul Morrissey are still profiting from DVD sales of All Aboard to Dreamland Choo Choo, where the footage appears, and goes as far as to call the film “child pornography.” Click here to read the full text of the complaint filed in Pennsylvania.
Info: Courthouse News Service via Art Tactic
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
Shepard Fairey Exhibit Opens Amidst New Legal Controversy
(All Images via Obey Clothing)
After a hugely successful run at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, Shepard Fairey’s museum retrospective opened today at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. The exhibit premiers just as new and disheartening information surfaces about the artist’s ongoing legal battle with the Associated Press.
Read on for the full story Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Warhol Athlete Series Stolen
(Via: Los Angeles Police Department)
A series of 10 unique prints from Warhol’s well-known Athlete Series were stolen earlier this month from the Los Angeles residence of collector Richard Weisman. A commissioned portrait of Weisman was also taken in the theft.
While other color versions of the print edition depicting sports icons of the 1970s exist, Weisman’s are arguably the most significant. It was at his request that Warhol created the series, and in turn the artist requested Wesiman to hand pick the ten athletes, many who he knew personally. The works have been heavily on loan over the past few years, appearing in exhibitions at the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA) in 2008 and the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in 2006.
In 2006 Wesiman noted, “I felt that putting this series together was a natural in that two of the most popular leisure time activities at that time were sports and art, yet to my knowledge they had no direct connection,” Weisman said. “I therefore thought that having Andy Warhol do the series would inspire people who loved sports to come into galleries, maybe for the first time, and people who liked art would take their first look at a sports superstar.”
A one million dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery of the works of art.
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
Update :: Conor Harrington Mural Liberated
The newly uncovered Conor Harrington mural at the corner of W. 13 and Washington Streets in NYC. (Image: Public Ad Campaign)
Earlier this week we reported that an unsolicited New York City street mural created by British painter Conor Harrington had been covered with illegal NPA City Outdoor advertising without necessary permits. Last night a Facebook post from Dickchicken alerted us to the mural’s liberation. It looks like The Public Ad Campaign and Chicken took matters into their own hands, removing the billboard frame from the wall. While we are happy to see that Conor’s piece is once again visible, the entire story does raise interesting questions in the debate over the use of public space.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Illegal Ads Cover Illegal Art
Image: amolho4
Looks like this great Conor Harrington that quietly resided for the past ten month on the corner of W. 13th and Washington Streets in Manhattan’s West Village has finally run it’s course. It would be disappointing but understandable if the mural had been defaced by other graffiti writers or reclaimed by the wall’s rightful owners. Instead, it has been covered by yet another illegal NPA City Outdoor advertisement, which the Public Ad Campaign have been diligently documenting. Keep up the good work guys, and a nod to LunaPark as well for being early on the lead.
Image: sabeth718
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
Zevz Hit with $870,000 Fine
Video: SCMP
After being arrested and detained in Hong Kong last month for unlawfully applying one of his signature liquidated Chanel logos to the exterior of an Armani boutique, French artist Zevz (that’s “Zeus”), whose real name is Christophe Shwarz, has been fined a punitive $870,000 US (HK$6,746,000). While authorities have been quite harsh in their judgement, the artist’s Liquidated Logos exhibit is still on view and runs till September 30 at Art Statements Gallery. If you were ever thinking of purchasing one of his works, now’s probably a good time to support.
Info: Artnet
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Nara Painting Stolen from LA Home
Just another reminder how important it is to insure your art collection. The Art Loss Register has announced the recent theft of this Yoshitomo Nara painting, stolen from a private residence in Los Angeles. The owner is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the return of the artwork. Anyone with information can contact the Art Lost Registry at 877 ART-LOSS, or the LAPD Art Theft Detail.
Via: Art Market Monitor
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
National Portrait Gallery Claims Copyright Violation Against Wikipedia User
A 1544 portrait of Mary I housed on Wikipedia and credited to the National Portrait Gallery.
The Independent reports that The National Portrait Gallery of London is taking action against a Wikipedia user for violating copyright laws. In question are some 3000+ images owned by the state-funded gallery that were uploaded to Wikipedia by Derrick Coetzee, a Seattle based PhD student. Several issues complicate matters. First, the centuries old portraits in question are long out of copyright and within the public domain, while the Portrait Gallery claims they retain the rights to the reproduced images of them and are entitled to licensing fees. Second, with Coetzee in the U.S. and the NPG in England, there is dispute concerning jurisdiction and conflicting international copyright laws. As if all this wasn’t enoug, the gallery argues that Wikipedia’s servers are housed in the UK and therefor fall under their nation’s jurisdiction. Yet, upon investigation of its own Wiki entry, we report that the non-profit parent Wikimedia Foundation is located in California, organized under Florida law where it was initially based, and holds servers across three nations – 300 in Florida, 26 in Amsterdam, and another 23 in South Korea. None, according to the company, are in the UK.