I wish to examine a type of art called appropriation art and copyright law applicable to art and how this law can affect artists and the market through investigating the history of copyright law and lawsuits brought against artists for copyright infringement. The questions I will address in my final page include but are not limited to: What does the law stipulate and how can it be used to help or limit artists’ creative process? What is the law’s influence the market?

  1. Introduction
    1. What is appropriation?
    2. Its rise in the second half of the 20th century and issues regarding copyright infringement
  2. History of copyright laws relating to art
    1. Hogarth’s Act
    2. Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
    3. Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988
    4. Copyright laws in the U.K. and the U.S.
  3. Appropriation art
    1. Working from another’s photograph
      1. Jeff Koons – Rogers v. Koons
    2. Re-photographing
      1. Sherrie Levine
    3. Collage art
      1. Richard Prince – Cariou v. Prince
      2. Jeff Koons – Blanch v. Koons
    4. Transformative vs. derivative, fair uses
      1.  Robert Rauschenberg
    5. Parody
      1. American Gothic
    6. Using works of deceased artists
      1. Elsinore and Lichtenstein
    7. Question of originality and authorship – its place does in today’s art world
  4. The market
    1. Today’s market – its characteristics and preferences
    2. How appropriation art is viewed in the market
    3. Speculation for the future
      Patrick Cariou (left) and Prince (right)

http://www.artnet.com/Images/magazine/news/garnett/cariou-prince.jpg

Sources:

“Appropriation Art and Fair Uses.” ArtQuest. http://www.artquest.org.uk/articles/view/appropriation-art-and-fair-uses1.

“Photographer Sam Abell talks about Richard Prince.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um74DKYlta8.

“Sherrie Levine, Appropriation and Copyright.” http://www.olinda.com/VC/lectures/Levine_page_1.htm.

Biel, Steven. American Gothic: a life of America’s most famous painting.

“Appropriation Artist Richard Prince Liable for Infringement, Court Rules.” http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/news/Appropriation-Artist-2241.shtml. 

 Wolff, Nancy E. “How Much Is Too Much? …” CDAS. http://cdas.com/legal/how-much-is-too-much-transformative-works-vs-derivative-works-ph/.

“Copyright for Collage Artists.” Funnystrange.com. http://www.funnystrange.com/copyright/index.html.

“Intellectual Property and the Arts.” College Art Association. http://www.collegeart.org/ip/.

“A Brief Introduction and History.” U.S. Copyright Office. http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1a.html.

“Art and Law.” American Society of Portrait Artists. http://www.asopa.com/publications/2000winter/law.htm.

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1 Comment

  1. Cheryl Finley

    Dear June, this is a fantastic topic and you have described both your thesis and your outline succinctly. The questions that you ask of appropriation art and its legal implications not only have historical breadth (dating back to Hogarth, of course), but they also have contemporary cultural and aesthetic implications. These implications in turn affect the art market and I am most curious to see how your final presentation will incorporate your topic's implications for the art market today. Of course, interestingly, while many of the artists you mention (Koons, Levine, etc.) are known for their use of appropriation, it is also the case that their work sells for large sums that frequently surpass the values paid for the work they're referencing. Might you comment on this somewhere in your presentation? Your sources look great. Do let me know if I can help in any way. Good luck!