©autionary Tales: Of Hoffman
Tale One In October of last year photographer David Hoffman successfully prosecuted London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Councillor Barrie Duffey (Liberal), for distributing a leaflet which violated Hoffman’s copyright. The leaflet is not a grand affair:…
Common Sources
Jack Vettriano’s oil painting, Reach Out and Touch (February/June), 2003, was sold last year for around £35,000. It depicts a rear view of the artist, bespectacled and wearing a white collared shirt and black trousers with forked braces,…
Public Sculpture
Sculptures situated in public places can easily be photographed, filmed, or drawn without the knowledge of the sculptor, and such two dimensional reproductions might equally easily be merchandised commercially. What rights, if any, do sculptors have over their…
Bankrupt Galleries: A Cautionary Tale
Art galleries too are not recession proof, but what happens to the stock, the artwork, when they cease trading may be more complicated and certainly is unnerving for the artists involved. Auctions of liquidated stock…
Beware of Artists Bearing Gifts
It is still common and customary practice for artists to donate works to friends, family, museums and galleries. And it is equally common that such gifts are executed by informal methods, which can and often…
Public Art Commissions: Part 2
Last month’s column continues. Phase 2: Fabrication, fees and costs In this phase, the parties will be contemplating their having a successful design/model/maquette which will need to be fabricated; in which case, they will need…
Leibovitz Futures
‘One of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off’: thus reported the New York Times on February 24 2009, breaking the…
Performance Art
In 1964 Joseph Beuys gave an improvised 30 minute performance broadcast live on Germany’s second public television channel ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen), which he called Marcel Duchamp’s Silence Is Overrated. The performance was not taped but Beuys allowed…
Famous last words
Andy Warhol died in 1987. In the few years since his death his Estate has been beset by no fewer than three serious and complex legal wrangles. In Britain the death of Henry Moore in 1986 has…
What kinds of contract might I be expected to sign when taking on a property?
When signing any document it is essential that you understand its contents. The written agreement which you enter into for “renting” your studio will either…
Deceased Artists
Through a public consultation paper issued in June 2008, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has been seeking the views of art market professionals, artists, representatives of artists’ collecting societies, and from deceased artists’ estates, in order to…
Agents’ and Dealers’ Duties
Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing Madonna and Child with St Anne and a Lamb (c.1501 19) was the subject of a lawsuit decided by London's High Court in November 2010, which shed “a bright light on an…
Anticipating Future Uses of Work
A traditional assumption of many commissioners, owners and users of artworks is that artists should consider themselves lucky, even privileged, to have been paid for doing what they enjoy and therefore have few if any…
Orphan Works 1
‘Orphan works’ are copyright works that have no identifiable or traceable owner under international and national copyright laws, and are therefore allowed to be freely copied and merchandised. These sensible arrangements were developed through international copyright treaties…
Copyright Services
Picasso’s keen interest in taking care of the commercial dimension of his professional practice manifested itself relatively early in his career and extended also to the careers of his contemporaries; he contributed significantly to the establishment of one…
Art and the law on trial
Does the public need protecting against art and artists? Recent serious and real events in Parliament and the Courts have raised this apparently whimsical and abstract question to public notice. The law makers and…
Art for Architecture Legistlation
Two new publications signal serious efforts to advance the art and architecture movement in the U.K.: Art For Architecture (published by H.M.S.Q.) and The Register of Artists and Craftsmen in Architecture (published by Art and Architecture…
Running and programming your own artist-led space
If you are running your own gallery space it’s important to have an idea of the kind of programme you want. A clear curatorial vision will help attract visitors and funding to your…