Slog
News & ArtsThursday, September 20, 2012
Visual Art The Lady Wants a Cut
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 3:23 PM
The eighty-something woman who defaced/awesomeified Jesus in a Spanish church fresco earlier this summer now is claiming copyright.
After all, people are flocking to see her bad art. She wants part of the take from the church collection box. And she has lawyers.
What say you, jury?
1
That reminds me: since I comment here pretty frequently, and people are obviously coming to read my comments, I'm going to need a cut of your profits. You know how to reach me.
2
Also, I wrote my name on the walls of several churches. I will be contacting them shortly for my cut.
3
The gall of this woman aside, is that how copyright on paintings actually works?
My understanding is that intellectual property on artwork is different than, say, some sort of performance art. You can't charge people just for looking at it. If that were the case, someone who bought a physical copy of a painting would have to pay the artist in perpetuity. What you can't do is make a copy of the artwork and sell it without the permission of the artist and without giving most/all of the proceeds to the original artist, and it doesn't sound like that's what the church is doing.
My understanding is that intellectual property on artwork is different than, say, some sort of performance art. You can't charge people just for looking at it. If that were the case, someone who bought a physical copy of a painting would have to pay the artist in perpetuity. What you can't do is make a copy of the artwork and sell it without the permission of the artist and without giving most/all of the proceeds to the original artist, and it doesn't sound like that's what the church is doing.
4
Ok, I assumed she might be on to something if somehow the bootleg t-shirt sales of her painting were going through the roof, but no...
I'm also thankful for this:
claiming copyright on her work and demanding a cut of the takings from the collection box that the church authorities have placed near the fresco
I'm also thankful for this:
The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic, he says.
5
@3: Copyright typically covers the right to distribution, performance, display, and the creation of derivative works of a creative expression, in addition to reproduction (i.e. copying). I'm not sure of the law in Spain, but she might have a case because the church is "displaying" her work. She might be able to demand a license or other compensation, and she might also be able to assert that the church is being unjustly enriched by her work. She probably has a case - maybe not the strongest, but certainly something.
7
@5,
So if an artist gives* a painting to a restaurant, that artist can then claim licensing fees because the restaurant is displaying it? And what about art in a museum that was donated to the museum by the owners of the work, not by the original artist? Call me skeptical that museums are paying licensing fees to living artists.
There's also the matter of the law surrounding the right to take photos of artwork. There are no laws against it; you just can't make reproductions of it, unless it's in the public domain.
*And she pretty clearly gave the work to the church without expectation of compensation.
So if an artist gives* a painting to a restaurant, that artist can then claim licensing fees because the restaurant is displaying it? And what about art in a museum that was donated to the museum by the owners of the work, not by the original artist? Call me skeptical that museums are paying licensing fees to living artists.
There's also the matter of the law surrounding the right to take photos of artwork. There are no laws against it; you just can't make reproductions of it, unless it's in the public domain.
*And she pretty clearly gave the work to the church without expectation of compensation.
8
@7: It does seem that she gave the work to the church, but apparently she now feels she still retained some rights in the work. Regarding the museum, that fact pattern is different: If the museum lawfully purchased the work, the first sale doctrine applies and the rights of the artist to exclude others from displaying the work are terminated. Regarding photographing an artwork, refer to 17 USC Sec. 106, which describes the the exclusive rights of a copyright owner as including making a copy - and making a photograph probably qualifies, but any analysis would have to consider factors such as ownership, licensing, etc. Also, European copyright laws are not exactly the same as US copyright laws, so assumptions made based on experiences in this country may not apply to this situation.
9
MacCrocodile, dear, you comment frequently, but your comments are of average quality, if I might say so. My comments, on the other hand, are truly superlative. I think it's fairly clear that I set the standard for class, depth, and wit among the Sloggers. Why, my comments are always the highlight of the post (and I say this humility). Obviously if any Slogger is entitled (as Mitt would phrase it) of the profits derived from Slog, it is I.
(But you are all quite adequate, I should confess.)
(But you are all quite adequate, I should confess.)
10
"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
11
Fruit of a vandalized tree. A tree that she vandalized her very self. Easy no to any benefits from that horrible unfortunate action.
Yes I know I've mixed my metaphors and legal doctrines.
Yes I know I've mixed my metaphors and legal doctrines.
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