Update: Kunsthal loot and blue suede shoes

By way of latest news in relation to the saga of the paintings stolen from the Kunsthal gallery (reported here, here and here), where the lawyers for the accused had said that the paintings had not been destroyed and could be returned, now they have said that the accused thieves will not reveal where the works have been hidden following the refusal by the Romanian court of a request for the case to be tried in the Netherlands.

Bloomberg reports that at a pretrial hearing in Bucharest for the trial of Radu Dogaru, the alleged ringleader, his lawyer said that 'his client was trying to avoid a more-stringent sentence in his homeland by offering to return the five under his "control" in exchange for being transferred to Holland and, if convicted, serving his time there'.

Don't you criticise my shoes

Before the court could deal with this issue, however, there was apparently several hours of debate as to what it should do about the shoes of one of the lawyers for the accused. The man in question had reportedly made the sartorial decision to wear blue suede sneakers with florescent green stripes to court, which, understandably, enraged the judge. Ignoring the lawyer's protestations that the shoes were expensive and highly fashionable, and that the judge was clearly biased and should be replaced, the judge declined to replace himself and fined the lawyer 5,000 lei ($1,488).

Meanwhile, the Dutch foundation that managed the stolen pieces, seemingly despaired by the on-going saga, has given up on ever recovering the paintings, recovering €17 million from its insurers, and accordingly surrendering its ownership rights to the paintings.

Sources: Bloomberg, 10 September 2013, The New York Times, 10 September 2013

Fate of "Big Mountain Jesus" Now Rests with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

At Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana, one may encounter Jesus--in the form of a six foot tall statue, adorned in a baby blue robe, and from time to time, ski goggles and mardi gras beads.  This iconic local statue remains the topic of an extended battle between an atheist group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), and the U.S. Forest Service and the Knights of Columbus.  The statue, known as Big Mountain Jesus, was placed in its current location in the 1950's by the Knights of Columbus.  Due to the passage of time and varying historical narratives, the precise reasons for the existence of the statue are unknown.  By some accounts the statue was meant to honor veterans of World War II who had served in the 10th Mountain Division, as they had encountered similar shrines throughout their time in the mountain communities of Europe.

Although Big Mountain Jesus stands atop a private ski area, the ski area's land is leased from the U.S. Forest Service.  Every ten years, the Knights of Columbus seek a permit for the statue to remain situated.  According to FFRF, a statue of Jesus on public lands violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which mandates government neutrality between individual religions as well as between religion and non-religion.

In June 2013 the U.S. District Court for Montana issued a decision upholding the Forest Service's decision to again approve the Big Mountain Jesus permit.  Acknowledging intense political pressure and involvement from the National Register of Historic Places in favor of reissuing the permit, but dismissing that pressure as a basis for its decision, the court held that the continued presence of Big Mountain Jesus was not a Constitutional violation.  The court relied on the principal that not all religious symbols run afoul of the Establishment Clause.  To the extent that the statue may have had religious significance, the court found that over the course of the last 60 years the statue had become a historic landmark and curiosity more secular in nature.  Ultimately, the court held that the U.S. Forest Service's discrete act of issuing a permit did not reflect governmental endorsement of any religious sect.  Further, the court reasoned that because the government neither owns the statue nor controls the land it stands on, Big Mountain Jesus was more aptly considered private speech by its owners that cannot reasonably be interpreted to reflect government promotion of religion.

FFRF recently appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The matter is scheduled to be fully briefed by January 2014.

Artist faces child pornography charges

The recent federal elections may have overshadowed this latest art news out of Australia.

Australian artist, Paul Yore, was charged last week with producing and possessing child pornography. The charges were laid following the seizure by Victorian police of pieces of his art back in June of this year. The artworks were from one of his installations called "Everything's F..ked" - which was on display at a Melbourne gallery at that time.

One of Yore's allegedly pornographic pieces

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in November. If it goes to trial, it is likely to be a landmark case on the censorship of art.

Source: The Australian, 7 September 2013

Art After Death: coming soon ...

From our friend and colleague Jani McCutcheon (Associate Professor in the Law School, University of Western Australia), comes news of this exciting event, which we are are happy to publicise.  We do hope that some kind soul who attends will be able to send Art & Artifice a report which we can publish on this weblog.

While this symposium is aimed at lawyers, we hope that plenty of artists will be there to express their views. 

Faculty of Law

Art After Death Symposium

REGISTRATION

WHEN

• Monday, 14 October 2013

TIME

• 2.00pm-5.30pm

VENUE

• Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, The University of Western Australia

REGISTRATION

• $15.00 public registration
• $250.00 legal professionals

Registration closes Wednesday, 9 October 2013

LAW CPD ENQUIRIES

Email:Jennifer Rhodes
Telephone: (08) 6488 2995

BROCHURE

Art after Death brochure [PDF, 914.9 KB]
Updated 5 Sep 2013

A half day symposium exploring legal, financial and other issues affecting artists after death.

As an artist, your primary concern is developing your professional practise, in whatever guise that might take.  But, have you ever pondered what will happen to your work when you are no longer here?  Who will decide where your work can be shown, who can reproduce it and for what purposes can it be copied or used?

Like any other personal property, planning for your artwork, including who will own your work, administer your copyright and protect your reputation, after your death is an important but rarely discussed consideration.

Art After Death provides a unique opportunity to hear from prominent legal, accounting and arts professionals about the issues you may need to consider when planning for your will and estate.  You will also have the rare opportunity to ask questions and raise issues with the panel during the session.

Legal Professionals
If you are a practising legal professional, this is a fabulous opportunity to attend a unique CPD session covering aspects of intellectual property, estate planning law and ethical issues when dealing with artist estates.

Full attendance at the symposium entitles a practitioner to 3 CPD points.  1 point for each category: Legal Skills & Practice; Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Substantive Law/Legal Knowledge

Convenors

Arranged and supported by The University of Western Australia Law School, The University of Western Australia Cultural Precinct and Artsource. The symposium will be led by Jani McCutcheon and a panel of industry experts, see brochure for details.

Public Talk

Following the symposium, participants are invited to attend a public talk by author Katrina Strickland in relation to her recent book, Affairs of the Art, which discusses how the reputations of some well know Australian artists have been managed by the galleries, agents, and other arts industry professionals entrusted with these significant Australian artist's estates. 

Time: 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Venue: Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, UWA
Free, register for the public talk

Arts and culture - funding, participation and value

On Monday 3 December, Westminster Media Forum is holding a keynote seminar on arts and culture.  Speakers include Dominic Lake, the Head of Arts at the UK's Department for Culture Media and Sport, Moira Sinclair from Arts Council England, and Emma Black from the Science Museum.

The focus is, unsurprisingly, on arts funding and improving cultural engagement.  Areas for discussion include:

Public arts and cultural funding: next steps for policy, the long-term implications of cuts, progress on quantifying the impact of the creative industries, and assessing the legacy of the Cultural Olympiad

Cultural engagement and participation: beyond policy to involve young people, options to reach their parents and more widely - including grassroots approaches such as workshops and festivals

Innovation in funding: the emerging options for cultural institutions to increase earned income, encourage greater philanthropic and legacy giving, secure corporate sponsorship and exploit the power of digital channels

Capitalising on cultural tourism: the domestic and global opportunities to capitalise on the UK’s arts, culture and heritage to increase tourism, and address the competitive challenges for smaller cultural centres.

The draft agenda is here.  You can sign up here.  It costs £190 plus VAT (or £80 plus VAT if you fall within various criteria e.g. you work for a small arts charity).

Now we are 90!

Art & Artifice's special event on Art and Copyright after the Red Bus case, on 24 October (click here for details) now has 90 registrants. There's still room for more, and still time to register -- but don't leave it too late or you'll be consigned to the reserve list!

On behalf of our hosts, Simmons & Simmons, we remind you that tours of the permanent collection will be available (see www.simmonscontemporary.com for details of artists in the collection), including the current temporary exhibition, "Anticipating the Unexpected" -- an exhibition showcasing works by contemporary women artists including Tacita Dean, Tracey Emin, Emily Floyd, Sarah Lucas, Cornelia Parker and Gillian Wearing.

Sotheby's sells stolen art

It appears that Sotheby's London sold a piece of art at auction at the end of June for over £180,000, despite having been informed by the Art Loss Register (ALR) that it was stolen.

The piece by Jan Schoonhoven, R69-32 (1969), was originally stolen from the Bommel van Dam museum in March this year (along with two other Schoonhoven works and a piece by Tomas Rajlich). The work was reportedly simply turned 90 degrees, and its name was slightly altered. This was apparently all that was needed to fool everyone...

Upon discovering that the piece was up for auction, the ALR, who had been alerted when the work was stolen, contacted Sotheby's and told them that it corresponded to a Schoonhoven relief in their database. Sotheby's response was that as the title of the work did not correspond to the title in the ALR database. Therefore, they proceeded to sell the piece at auction on 27 June to two art galleries who bought it together - the Mayor Gallery in London and the Borzo in Amsterdam.

It is reported that it was only when Paul van Rosmalen from the Borzo, who had been away when the work was purchased, became aware of the acquisition made in his absence that questions were raised. An expert on Schoonhoven, he found it strange that the work had been put up for sale and asked for more details from his London colleagues. Van Rosmalen said that, on review of the photos they sent him, it was very clear that the title of the work had been modified (from R69-32 to R69-39). The sale was then immediately annulled and an enquiry opened.

The whole affair, however, only became public last week, when it was reported that a man entered a police station in Amsterdam in possession of the two other Schoonhoven reliefs stolen at the same time. On questioning, he claimed to have bought the three works in good faith...for €100...and admitted selling one through Sotheby's.

But all is well that ends well...almost. The two works which were turned into the Dutch police have been returned to the Bommel van Dam museum, although the auctioned work is apparently still in London. Unfortunately the piece by Tomas Rajlich is still missing.

Source: Le Quotidien, 23 August 2013

Exploring "Orderly Form" Requirements for U.S. Copyright Registrations

Again underscoring the importance of not just obtaining copyright registrations, but doing so correctly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently explored the "orderly form" requirement for copyright registrations covering collections of works.

The plaintiff, sculptor Quincy Neri, sued the defendants for copyright infringement after they posted photographs online that included her sculpture.  The parties engaged in a joint project remodeling a home by installing a vaulted ceiling and Neri's glass sculpture.  The architecture company, a named defendant in the case, took photographs documenting the progress of the space, and two of these photos included Neri's sculpture.  The photos were shared online by the company as well as the home owner.  Based on these facts, Neri then sued the architectural company, the home owner, and others for copyright infringement.

Under U.S. copyright law, a copyright arises when an original work of authorship becomes fixed in a tangible medium, however litigation to enforce a copyright requires that the plaintiff have obtained a copyright registration.  In this case, Neri asserted that she had a copyright registration for the sculpture at issue, but the registration covered multiple works in a collection.  The district court found the copyright invalid on this basis and dismissed the case.  On appeal, the Seventh Circuit held otherwise.

To obtain her copyright registration, Neri submitted a booklet of works as well as a selection of numbered photographs to the U.S. Copyright Office claiming that the works were part of a single collection called "Artwork of Q."  Defendants attacked the validity of the copyright registration and alternatively alleged that the registration did not in fact cover the sculpture that appeared in the remodel photographs.  Relying upon the administrative rules governing copyright registration of a collection, the Seventh Circuit held that the case been wrongly dismissed since the lower court judge had not actually evaluated the materials submitted to the copyright office, and instead had only reviewed deposition testimony of their nature.  Neither party had placed the deposit materials for the copyright registration on the record.  Neri thus benefited from the registration's entitlement to the presumption of validity.  The court, left grappling with the "orderly form" requirement for materials submitted for copyright registration of a collection concluded, "the key question must be whether the submission is organized well enough to permit users and courts to pin down the 'information' on which copyright enforcement depends."  And further, "Any organization that enables a court to associate a work underlying the suit with a work covered by a registration ought to do the trick."  

Ultimately, the case was remanded with instructions for the district court to reconsider its conclusions on the validity of the copyright registration and further to consider other previously overlooked issues such as joint authorship of the sculpture because the home owner and architectural company may have made creative contributions in determining the color and arrangement of the sixty glass pieces that comprised the finished sculpture.  The court further opined that sharing the pictures online may constitute fair use.

The court's full opinion may be accessed here.

Egyptian Art Ravaged

Back in 2011, the political and civil unrest in Egypt led to the destruction and theft of numerous artworks (reported here).

With the continuing turmoil over there, it appears that the same thing is happening once more. Russia Today reports:

As Egypt plunges deeper into the political turmoil, looters take advantage of the situation – and the latest robbery of the Malawi Museum in the city of Minya, 300km from Cairo, has been the biggest of its kind in the Egyptians’ living memory.  

Looters got away with more than 1,000 objects, including a prized 3,500-year-old limestone statue, ancient beaded jewelry, gold and bronze Greco-Roman coins, pottery and bronze-detailed sculptures of animals sacred to Thoth, one of the ancient Egyptian deities represented with the head of an ibis. 

The building was initially vandalized last Wednesday, with looting and burning going on for almost a week now. Local teenagers burned and destroyed mummies and other objects of art which were too heavy for robbers to carry.  

This is reportedly the biggest museum theft in Egyptian history. It is terrible to hear, yet again, about the destruction of these invaluable artworks.

Source: Russia Today, 20 August 2013

WIPO Guide to IP for museums updated

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently updated its guide on managing intellectual property for museums. While this guide is not specifically aimed at works of art, it is apparent that much of its content is highly relevant to the art world.

Further information can be gleaned from the WIPO webpage on Museums and Copyright and from the no-frills WIPO Guide on Managing Intellectual Property for Museums (2013 Edition, which, like its attractively-covered predecessor, illustrated on the right, has been written by Rina Elster Pantalony, but is only around two-thirds of the length).