I Support FAIR USE

Featuring examples of really cool art that benefit from the protection of Fair Use.

Support fair use, the section of copyright law that allows artists to create new work from existing imagery or ideas, provided the new work "...adds something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with new expression, meaning or message."
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Vote McGovern — Any Warhol, 1972 When people think Andy Warhol and fair use, the image that usually comes to mind is that of his Campbell’s soup cans, where there is no hiding the mass production of mass consumption. A little less obvious are Warhol’s portraits, all of which were derived from photos. Warhol (or his staff) transferred these images to film which was then used to produces screens the artist could use to generate his prints. In this 1972 portrait of Richard Nixon, Warhol appropriated a stock photo of the sitting president (the origin of which I unfortunately have not been able to determine), created the screen through which he would flow his inks, then judiciously chose to produce the president’s image in garish colors fitting of a candidate he chose not to support. The hand scrawled “Vote McGovern” at the bottom of the image — without any images or text that call to mind support for the candidate — is what makes this use of the copyrighted photo fair use. With his image, Warhol effectively says, “McGovern’s not so hot, but at least he’s not Nixon,” which falls under the fair use provision “…for purposes such as criticism, comment….” The challenge to you as readers of my blog…  How is this different than Shepard Fairey’s Obama HOPE poster?  Hmmm? Discuss!

Vote McGovern — Any Warhol, 1972

When people think Andy Warhol and fair use, the image that usually comes to mind is that of his Campbell’s soup cans, where there is no hiding the mass production of mass consumption. A little less obvious are Warhol’s portraits, all of which were derived from photos. Warhol (or his staff) transferred these images to film which was then used to produces screens the artist could use to generate his prints.

In this 1972 portrait of Richard Nixon, Warhol appropriated a stock photo of the sitting president (the origin of which I unfortunately have not been able to determine), created the screen through which he would flow his inks, then judiciously chose to produce the president’s image in garish colors fitting of a candidate he chose not to support. The hand scrawled “Vote McGovern” at the bottom of the image — without any images or text that call to mind support for the candidate — is what makes this use of the copyrighted photo fair use. With his image, Warhol effectively says, “McGovern’s not so hot, but at least he’s not Nixon,” which falls under the fair use provision “…for purposes such as criticism, comment….”

The challenge to you as readers of my blog…  How is this different than Shepard Fairey’s Obama HOPE poster?  Hmmm? Discuss!

Sold Out — Max Papeschi, 2011 The neo pop creations of Italian artist Max Papeschi are overt in their aim to provoke discomfort and outrage in viewers and copyright holders alike. Virtually all of Papeschi’s work is derived from existing imagery, which is scanned and digitally manipulated, frequently combining corporate logos, cartoon characters, and public figures in scathingly acerbic narratives that border on the offensive. Like him or loath him, it is this extreme level of offense that benefits the case for fair use in evaluating whether or not Papeschi can “do that” with his images. By casting these characters in harsh light that widely departs from carefully crafted public perceptions, Papeschi’s images become parody, which falls under the protection of fair use: it is unlikely that a viewer would confuse the image above (derived from an original photograph of Adolph Hitler admiring stolen artwork) with the wholesome ideals crafted by the The Walt Disney Company.  If you’d like to learn a bit about the plundering of European museums, galleries and personal art collections during World War II, I very highly recommend a really great documentary from 2006, The Rape of Europa, which chronicles efforts by a little know coalition of volunteers known as the Monument Men who were responsible for relocating and returning art confiscated during the war. Also worth your perusal is Rescuing Da Vinci, a fascinating book that served as the launching point for the film.

Sold Out — Max Papeschi, 2011

The neo pop creations of Italian artist Max Papeschi are overt in their aim to provoke discomfort and outrage in viewers and copyright holders alike. Virtually all of Papeschi’s work is derived from existing imagery, which is scanned and digitally manipulated, frequently combining corporate logos, cartoon characters, and public figures in scathingly acerbic narratives that border on the offensive.

Like him or loath him, it is this extreme level of offense that benefits the case for fair use in evaluating whether or not Papeschi can “do that” with his images. By casting these characters in harsh light that widely departs from carefully crafted public perceptions, Papeschi’s images become parody, which falls under the protection of fair use: it is unlikely that a viewer would confuse the image above (derived from an original photograph of Adolph Hitler admiring stolen artwork) with the wholesome ideals crafted by the The Walt Disney Company. 

If you’d like to learn a bit about the plundering of European museums, galleries and personal art collections during World War II, I very highly recommend a really great documentary from 2006, The Rape of Europa, which chronicles efforts by a little know coalition of volunteers known as the Monument Men who were responsible for relocating and returning art confiscated during the war. Also worth your perusal is Rescuing Da Vinci, a fascinating book that served as the launching point for the film.

Laura — Netherland, 2012 An idea need not be terribly complex to satisfy the requirements of fair use.  Take this 2012 mixed media piece from Netherland, consisting of nothing more than a a pair of clipped out images affixed to the page of a book, complimented by a little acrylic and resin. Voila! The foreground images are, of course, sourced from magazines with copyrights likely owned by the photographers of the speaker and coff-sipping woman.  The background has been clipped directly from a 1977 Harlequin romance novel — Isle Of Desire, by Anne Hampson. With these three elements, Netherland has concocted a new narrative that stands apart from the speaker, the woman’s figure, and the narrative pf the background story. Well done!

Laura — Netherland, 2012

An idea need not be terribly complex to satisfy the requirements of fair use.  Take this 2012 mixed media piece from Netherland, consisting of nothing more than a a pair of clipped out images affixed to the page of a book, complimented by a little acrylic and resin.

Voila!

The foreground images are, of course, sourced from magazines with copyrights likely owned by the photographers of the speaker and coff-sipping woman.  The background has been clipped directly from a 1977 Harlequin romance novel — Isle Of Desire, by Anne Hampson.

With these three elements, Netherland has concocted a new narrative that stands apart from the speaker, the woman’s figure, and the narrative pf the background story.

Well done!

The Other Chamber — Mark Bryan Mark Bryan was one of the very first artists to be featured in I Support Fair Use since the blog’s debut last October. Here, we bring you yet another of Bryan’s inspired works, which casts Hello Kitty — the princess darling of Sanrio — as a woman of some unspecified privilege taking on a new day while trouble looms patiently in the corner. Hello Kitty, through the massive market saturation of her copyright holder, has attained an almost Kleenex or Q-Tip like brand pervasiveness, to the point that “rights” are almost immaterial. In any case, Bryan’s use of the image takes her off the stickers, stationery, lunch pails, seat covers, cellphones microwaves, and — well, everywhere! — to place her in surroundings that only exist in the mind of the artist, thus bringing new meaning and context to an image we all thought we know. Yet another excellent example of the transformative nature of effective fair use.

The Other Chamber — Mark Bryan

Mark Bryan was one of the very first artists to be featured in I Support Fair Use since the blog’s debut last October. Here, we bring you yet another of Bryan’s inspired works, which casts Hello Kitty — the princess darling of Sanrio — as a woman of some unspecified privilege taking on a new day while trouble looms patiently in the corner.

Hello Kitty, through the massive market saturation of her copyright holder, has attained an almost Kleenex or Q-Tip like brand pervasiveness, to the point that “rights” are almost immaterial. In any case, Bryan’s use of the image takes her off the stickers, stationery, lunch pails, seat covers, cellphones microwaves, and — well, everywhere! — to place her in surroundings that only exist in the mind of the artist, thus bringing new meaning and context to an image we all thought we know.

Yet another excellent example of the transformative nature of effective fair use.

Jerry’s Girl — Richard Prince, 2013 I’m not a big fan of Richard Prince who has long been engaged in a bitter copyright dispute with photographer Patrick Cariou over Prince’s marginally creative embellishments upon Cariou’s original photographs.  I won’t bore you with the details of that particular suit, which most recently saw Prince prevailing through the appeals process; you can simply Google “Prince v Cariou” for all the legal wrangling your soul can bear. Personally, I’m of the opinion that Prince’s appropriation of Cariou’s work is not a strong example of fair use. This new image, though, is an extraordinary example of fair use!  In this recent image Price has assembled a digital composite of every girlfriend won over by comedian Jerry Seinfeld on his NBC sitcom, Seinfeld, during it’s primetime run from 1989 through 1998. Prince has basically taken head shots of the actresses who played various girlfriends during the series (Teri Hatcher, Kristin Davis, Amanda Peete, and many, many more) and, using a computer, morphed all of these beautiful, wholesome gals into a single composite image. Brilliant!  Though each of the individual images was created by a different copyright holding photographer, Prince has created an entirely new piece benefiting from several aspects of fair use: giving the originals new purpose and meaning, providing commentary, and bring forth a wholly new artistic vision. Yada, yada, yada…

Jerry’s Girl — Richard Prince, 2013

I’m not a big fan of Richard Prince who has long been engaged in a bitter copyright dispute with photographer Patrick Cariou over Prince’s marginally creative embellishments upon Cariou’s original photographs.  I won’t bore you with the details of that particular suit, which most recently saw Prince prevailing through the appeals process; you can simply Google “Prince v Cariou” for all the legal wrangling your soul can bear.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that Prince’s appropriation of Cariou’s work is not a strong example of fair use. This new image, though, is an extraordinary example of fair use!  In this recent image Price has assembled a digital composite of every girlfriend won over by comedian Jerry Seinfeld on his NBC sitcom, Seinfeld, during it’s primetime run from 1989 through 1998.

Prince has basically taken head shots of the actresses who played various girlfriends during the series (Teri Hatcher, Kristin Davis, Amanda Peete, and many, many more) and, using a computer, morphed all of these beautiful, wholesome gals into a single composite image. Brilliant!  Though each of the individual images was created by a different copyright holding photographer, Prince has created an entirely new piece benefiting from several aspects of fair use: giving the originals new purpose and meaning, providing commentary, and bring forth a wholly new artistic vision.

Yada, yada, yada…

Birth Of The Bride — Mike Bell Not the first Birth of Venus inspired painting featured on the blog, nor the first nodding a lightning bolt bouffant to the Bride of Frankenstein, but this piece from New Jersey artist Mike Bell is just toooooo amazing to overlook!  Botticelli’s priceless original is, of course, in the public domain (though reproduction rights for famous works of art is usually a bit tricky, with rights often falling to the estate of the artist or, sometimes, to the gallery that now holds the piece), while the Bride of Frankenstein, as a fiction character, is the intellectual property of Universal. The mixing of these two iconic characters is pure genius! Bell’s artistic vision is most definitely transformative in nature, and falls squarely under within the protection of fair use.

Birth Of The Bride — Mike Bell

Not the first Birth of Venus inspired painting featured on the blog, nor the first nodding a lightning bolt bouffant to the Bride of Frankenstein, but this piece from New Jersey artist Mike Bell is just toooooo amazing to overlook!  Botticelli’s priceless original is, of course, in the public domain (though reproduction rights for famous works of art is usually a bit tricky, with rights often falling to the estate of the artist or, sometimes, to the gallery that now holds the piece), while the Bride of Frankenstein, as a fiction character, is the intellectual property of Universal.

The mixing of these two iconic characters is pure genius! Bell’s artistic vision is most definitely transformative in nature, and falls squarely under within the protection of fair use.

Highly Illogical — Casey Weldon, 2013 Currently on display at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, this recent painting from Casey Weldon is one of many excellent pieces in Bad Robot — a group show focusing on the films and TV properties produced by J. J. Abrams for Bad Robot Productions. Themed exhibits have long been popular, frequently focusing on broad topics of pop culture such as zombies, tiki, or Day of the Dead. In recent years, however, themed shows have emerged with very specific subject matter, drawing large crowds of curious and collectors. Recent shows have included art dedicated to Twin Peaks, Pee Wee Herman, Hello Kitty, and much, much more. Frequently, these events are staged with the full cooperation and involvement of the copyright holders. Notably, the Hello Kitty exhibit was staged by Sanrio in conjunction with a book release, while the Twin Peaks exhibit included art from David Lynch and saw several cast members attending the opening reception. At times, though, it’s difficult to tell which exhibits have been given the copyright “thumbs up”, and which are simply the result of a good idea for a theme. The show at Gallery 1988 is billed as “The Official Bad Robot Art Experience”, which would lead one to believe that the artwork produced for the show has been given a copyright pass. Therein, Casey Weldon’s great piece of Mr. Spock Escher-esque string wizardry would not technically need any protection from fair use; permission has been granted! But what if the piece had been created for another exhibit, or for a gallery that failed to secure the proper permissions from the rights holders? Would that mean that Weldon’s painting was any less valid? No. While the likeness, the uniform, the pointy ears, and live-long-and-prosper salute are all well known aspects of the character copyrighted by CBS/Viacom/Paramount (take your pick, ownership is confusing!), it’s the unexpected narrative present in the painting that gives the familiar character a new purpose and meaning. Therefore, fair use! In any case, it is a completely awesome painting!

Highly Illogical — Casey Weldon, 2013

Currently on display at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, this recent painting from Casey Weldon is one of many excellent pieces in Bad Robot — a group show focusing on the films and TV properties produced by J. J. Abrams for Bad Robot Productions.

Themed exhibits have long been popular, frequently focusing on broad topics of pop culture such as zombies, tiki, or Day of the Dead. In recent years, however, themed shows have emerged with very specific subject matter, drawing large crowds of curious and collectors. Recent shows have included art dedicated to Twin Peaks, Pee Wee Herman, Hello Kitty, and much, much more.

Frequently, these events are staged with the full cooperation and involvement of the copyright holders. Notably, the Hello Kitty exhibit was staged by Sanrio in conjunction with a book release, while the Twin Peaks exhibit included art from David Lynch and saw several cast members attending the opening reception.

At times, though, it’s difficult to tell which exhibits have been given the copyright “thumbs up”, and which are simply the result of a good idea for a theme. The show at Gallery 1988 is billed as “The Official Bad Robot Art Experience”, which would lead one to believe that the artwork produced for the show has been given a copyright pass. Therein, Casey Weldon’s great piece of Mr. Spock Escher-esque string wizardry would not technically need any protection from fair use; permission has been granted! But what if the piece had been created for another exhibit, or for a gallery that failed to secure the proper permissions from the rights holders? Would that mean that Weldon’s painting was any less valid?

No.

While the likeness, the uniform, the pointy ears, and live-long-and-prosper salute are all well known aspects of the character copyrighted by CBS/Viacom/Paramount (take your pick, ownership is confusing!), it’s the unexpected narrative present in the painting that gives the familiar character a new purpose and meaning. Therefore, fair use!

In any case, it is a completely awesome painting!

Homer — Cobrinha Today’s post is dedicated to a single fictional (yet, uberly copyrighted) cartoon character, as well as the website dedicated to artwork featuring using that character. The above image by Argentinian artist Mariana Guerci (Cobrinha) is just one of countless paintings, drawing, and digital manipulated renderings found on DrawHomer.com , an entire site devoted to Homer Simpson inspired art! How many of the images on the site would be protected by fair use were the legal eagles at Fox and Bongo Comics to sharpen their cease and desist swords to protect their copyright? (Not that they would, in my opinion, as the site promotes, rather than competes with the (ahem) “real” Homer) many of the images on DrawHomer are transformative — i.e. the original character and the cartoon drawing we’re all familiar with, is recast in a manner that gives the original new meaning. Doh!

Homer — Cobrinha

Today’s post is dedicated to a single fictional (yet, uberly copyrighted) cartoon character, as well as the website dedicated to artwork featuring using that character. The above image by Argentinian artist Mariana Guerci (Cobrinha) is just one of countless paintings, drawing, and digital manipulated renderings found on DrawHomer.com , an entire site devoted to Homer Simpson inspired art!

How many of the images on the site would be protected by fair use were the legal eagles at Fox and Bongo Comics to sharpen their cease and desist swords to protect their copyright? (Not that they would, in my opinion, as the site promotes, rather than competes with the (ahem) “real” Homer) many of the images on DrawHomer are transformative — i.e. the original character and the cartoon drawing we’re all familiar with, is recast in a manner that gives the original new meaning.

Doh!

Sin título/Untitled (vestido amarillo) — Dr. Lakra, 2004 Currently in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, this image from Oaxaca based artist Dr. Lakra (Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez), uses as its canvas a page clipped from a vintage Mexican magazine. Dr. Lakra then embellishes the original with tattoos and other painted imagery to carry the narrative well beyond its original intent.

Sin título/Untitled (vestido amarillo) — Dr. Lakra, 2004

Currently in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, this image from Oaxaca based artist Dr. Lakra (Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez), uses as its canvas a page clipped from a vintage Mexican magazine. Dr. Lakra then embellishes the original with tattoos and other painted imagery to carry the narrative well beyond its original intent.

Idol Worship II — John John Jesse, 2004 Punk musician John John Jesse (Nausea, Morning Glory) has established himself as a formidable illustrator, frequently filling his canvases with images pulled from the collective mind of pop culture. In this 2004 piece, Jesse leverages a variety of well known (yet, very diverse — Piglet and Alex from A Clockwork Orange, anyone?) faces including Batman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and… Yoda, as the Pope. As we frequently see in art protected by fair use, it’s through the conceptual vision of the artist that a recognizable (and — gasp! — copyrighted) image can be used, merely, as visual clue when telling a much broader story. Here, Jesse further develops his composition through the use of symbols linked to religion and monarchism — crowns, rosary beads, a sacred heart. In the background, we see what appears to be a closed vault, while in the foreground a snake slithers from a television sets. The presence of these symbol, all around a woman sprawled topless on a bed, is no accident. And it’s where a super cool piece of art qualifies for the protection of fair use — as opposed to “just a painting of batman”.

Idol Worship II — John John Jesse, 2004

Punk musician John John Jesse (Nausea, Morning Glory) has established himself as a formidable illustrator, frequently filling his canvases with images pulled from the collective mind of pop culture. In this 2004 piece, Jesse leverages a variety of well known (yet, very diverse — Piglet and Alex from A Clockwork Orange, anyone?) faces including Batman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, and… Yoda, as the Pope.

As we frequently see in art protected by fair use, it’s through the conceptual vision of the artist that a recognizable (and — gasp! — copyrighted) image can be used, merely, as visual clue when telling a much broader story. Here, Jesse further develops his composition through the use of symbols linked to religion and monarchism — crowns, rosary beads, a sacred heart. In the background, we see what appears to be a closed vault, while in the foreground a snake slithers from a television sets. The presence of these symbol, all around a woman sprawled topless on a bed, is no accident. And it’s where a super cool piece of art qualifies for the protection of fair use — as opposed to “just a painting of batman”.

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