Contradictions: Appropriation Vipers are Easy to Spot

Contradictions: Appropriation Vipers are Easy to Spot

I’ve been involved with a debate on critic Alan Bamberger’s Facebook Wall about the challenges some people have while visiting artist websites. Today I decided to catch up on the conversation and I noticed that New York based artist Joy Garnett offered her two cents on the topic. Garnett stated, “It's also important to allow people to grab jpegs of your work with ease - as opposed to preventing it - so they can easily post and distribute them…”. Garnett’s advice caused me to laugh because her history-- and what she has supported in the face of copyright and the rights of the majority of artists-- speaks for itself.

Brian Sherwin's thoughts on strong copyright for visual artists

Brian Sherwin's thoughts on strong copyright for visual artists:

I’ve long been a strong supporter of copyright-- specifically for visual artists. The key issue today is that art can be a business now more than ever-- which is why copyright is important. My experience dictates that artists who are against copyright either don’t make money from their artwork-- so the infringement is not really an issue for them per se-- or they rely on using the work of others freely in order to create-- and profit from-- there own artwork.

The artist Shepard Fairey always comes up in conversations about copyright. After all, he is a prime example of an artist who would have a strong advantage if copyright protection as we know it were derailed. That said, Fairey is also an example of an artist who scoffs at copyright protection until his own artwork is put to the legal challenge. Fairey whines around about how copyright should not be so strict, but heaven forbid anyone do legitimate appropriation involving his widely known pieces.

Rivalry Between Visual Artists: Do you follow any?

It is safe to say that there are probably not as many people following the careers of visual artists as there are people following college football rankings. After all, the average art aficionado is generally a fan of specific works of art-- not necessarily the artist who created said work and the disputes he or she may be involved with. That said, people tend to take sides with bitter rivalries-- think Packers vs. Vikings, Cardinals vs. Cubs, or even minor disputes such as Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift-- that involve media hype or obvious fandom. However, it is rare to see the same passion focused on rivalries between visual artists. Rivalries between visual artists, including famous artists, do occur-- and can be fascinating to observe or read about.