One of the biggest problems with ART is that we take it too seriously.
Authenticity is a somewhat subjective commodity. Remember the Old Masters
and their numerous assistants? Remember R. Mutt's urinal? The artist and
friend should have planned more carefully, come up with a good alias and
shared in the glory.

**************************************************************************
Mark Nielsen
Exhibit Designer/Preparator
University of Michigan Museum of Art
[log in to unmask]      313/647-2068

On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, John A. Bing wrote:

> On Tue, 21 Jul 1998 09:27:35 +0000,Koko  wrote:
>
> >ETHICS IN ART
> >
> >You are a friend of a very famous artist who secretly admits to you that
> >the one of their most famous works was in fact
> >created by a visitor to their studio.  That by mistake it was sent out
> >to the gallery and later sold to a museum.
> >As his friend do you keep the secret, or do you expose the work as a
> >fraud?  Revealing what you know may result in endless lawsuits and deep
> >embarrassment on all sides.  Is the authenticity of a work important in
> >our society anymore?
> >
>         All I can say is heaven help our society if we do not take
> truth and authenticity as serious.   I am surprised that the question
> is even asked;  especially on a Museum list.
>
> John Bing
> Trustee, Laguna Art Museum
>