Today as I made my new blog banner, I wondered about the ethics of A) using someone else’s art as a starting point for my banners, and B) manipulating that work i.e. taking out a bit that I don’t want to use. Note the place in this banner just to the left of where the green and red meet at the bottom. You should see a little square patch. Is it any different if the art work is in the public domain or by a famous artist? Do I have any rights if I took the picture of the artwork? I don’t really know the strict answer to these questions and don’t feel the pressing need to find out, even though I am very careful about not illegally copying music. I suppose the salient point is whether I am robbing the artist of their livelihood or not.
I continue to be fascinated with the concept of digital manipulation and truth, however. Here is an earlier post on the topic.
And then today there is a story of a freelance photographer in Beirut who doctored (and rather badly at that) images of the war in Lebanon, including the one below and one of an F-16 dropping flares.
The accompanying video is even more interesting as it discusses potentially staged war footage in the same conflict and how this is a tactic that has been long used in wars to varying degrees. And it was bloggers who first pointed out the pictures to Reuters, who subsequently removed the entire catalog of the photographer from their files.
yeah, i’ve wondered that too about my stolen van gogh banner. i’ve been wanting to change it but i don’t know how since jesse the technowhiz phenagled it for me.
also, the falafel sonnets are very thoughtful and nicely done. and anytime you feel the itch to bring such lovely vittles to housechurch meal, you have our full permission.
Angela, I think your Van Gogh banner is just fine. I am less sure about my banner, but still OK with it.
Thanks for your kind words re: the falafel sonnets. They could be better with some more work, but I am please with some of the images and metaphors and thoughts.
Neil, similar to referencing quotes, it would probably be good to at least post the name of the artist by the work, and possibly the name of the work as well.
You see it all the time “Detail from ‘Wag the Dog’ by Joe Shmoe.” – the only thing you couldn’t write, is “used with permission of the artist.”
You know, art is tricky because if you manipulate the image enough, it becomes your own original work (such as in a collage) rather than the artist’s.
However, there probably are legal implications in photographing a work at an art festival, and posting it online where someone might lift it and use it for profit or elsewhere without permission from the artist. I guess it would be up to the artist to press charges though and it probably would go against the other guy.
In one art class, a teacher encouraged us to write “Copyright ” on the back of artworks so that we were covered in just such a situation.
Sorry to contribute to tedium in the world with these comments.
Good points, Heidi. Banner changed. I did rather like that one though.
I’m kind of sorry you changed your banner for that… do you think you could just type the artist’s name in a tiny font and keep it and continue enjoying his/her artwork?
The artist would probably think it was cool you appreciated his/her piece.