AMICO Press Release
October 24, 2001
AMICO and VAGA Reach Rights Agreement to Further Expand
Contemporary and Modern Art in The AMICO Library (TM)
AMICO Headquarters; Pittsburgh, PA
The Art Museum Image Consortium, Inc. (AMICO) and the Visual
Artists and Galleries Association, Inc. (VAGA) have reached a
landmark agreement that will
expand the coverage of contemporary and modern art in the leading digital
library of works of art available for educational use. In this agreement, VAGA
has granted AMICO a non-exclusive, worldwide license to include digital images
of copyrighted works of art by artists and estates represented by VAGA and its
affiliated rights societies in The AMICO Library where they can be studied
along with multimedia documentation of other works of art in the collections of
AMICO member museums. In return, AMICO will make royalty payments to the
artists through VAGA.
"This is an additional cornerstone in the foundation that AMICO is
establishing to make The AMICO Library the educational provider of works of art
from the 20th century and beyond in digital form,” said Jennifer Trant,
Executive Director of AMICO. "AMICO members are delighted to now contribute
some of the most recognized works in their collections without the added burden
of separate rights clearance,". Ms. Trant continued. Maxwell L. Anderson,
Director, Whitney Museum of American Art, observed, "as the arts community
navigates through the uncertain waters of copyright legislation in a wired
world, it is very exciting to have brought two critical constituencies together
in service of education: our major modern and contemporary artists and our
leading art museums."
Robert Panzer, Executive Director of VAGA, also considered the
agreement noteworthy. "As a representative and advocate for VAGA
artists’ rights we must
balance needs of access and dissemination with protection and copyright," Mr.
Panzer noted. "This agreement between VAGA and AMICO heightens availability of
our artists’ works for educational purposes, while still ensuring their
appropriate use under an educational license agreement; that's definitely a
win-win from VAGA’s perspective.".
AMICO Library subscribers will benefit from this agreement as well. Along with
the existing AMICO agreement with the Artists Rights Society (ARS), the
AMICO/VAGA agreement expands the depth of resources contained in The AMICO
Library without any change in subscription fees. Individual teachers and
students won't need to obtain additional copyright clearances, often a
time-consuming and uncertain process, when using pivotal contemporary works by
artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Robert Motherwell, in
their educational projects.
About AMICO
The Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) is an independent non-profit
corporation with 501 (c) 3 designation from the IRS. Founded in 1997 with 23
Members, the Consortium today is made up of over 30 major museums worldwide.
It’s an innovative collaboration not seen before in museums that shares,
shapes, and standardizes digital information regarding museum collections and
enables its educational use. Membership is open to any institution with a
collection of art.
AMICO members make annual contributions of multimedia documentation of works in
their museums’ collections. This data is compiled by AMICO and made available
as The AMICO Library to universities, colleges, schools, and public libraries
via distributors. Potential subscribers may preview a Thumbnail Catalog of The
AMICO Library and get further information at http://www.amico.org.
About VAGA
Founded in 1976, VAGA was the first organization in the U.S. to represent
visual artists' copyrights on a collective basis. Its membership includes
American artists and estates and also foreign artists and estates through
reciprocal agreements with sister organizations worldwide. Membership is open
to all visual artists ranging from those just starting out to well-known
members of the art community such as, Robert Rauschenberg, Stuart Davis, Robert
Motherwell, Louise Bourgeois, Jasper Johns, Joseph Cornell, Ben Shahn, David
Smith, Carlos Mérida, Romare Bearden, James Rosenquist, Alexander Rodchenko,
Donald Judd, Alex Katz, Thomas Hart Benton, Adolph Gottlieb, Tom Wesselmann,
Wayne Thiebaud, Vladimir and Georgi Stenberg, David Alfaro Siqueiros, H.C.
Westermann, Grant Wood, Ken Noland, Robert Smithson, and Larry Rivers.
Contact Information:
AMICO
Jennifer Trant
Executive Director
Art Museum Image Consortium
2008 Murray Avenue, Suite D
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Phone: (412) 422 8533
Fax: (412) 422 8594
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.amico.org
VAGA
Robert Panzer
Executive Director
Visual Artists and Galleries Association,
Inc. (VAGA)
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6305
New York, NY 10118
Phone: (212) 736 6666
Fax: (212) 736 6767
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
--
________
J. Trant 2008 Murray Ave, Suite D
Executive Director Pittsburgh, PA 15217 USA
Art Museum Image Consortium
http://www.amico.org Phone: +1 412 422 8533
[log in to unmask] Fax: +1 412 422 8594
AMICO - Enabling Educational Use of Museum Multimedia
________
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