>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?
>
>
>Koko
>World Arts Association
>http://www.artspeak.com
>
If the famous artist were stupid enough to put a friend in the position
of choosing between the ethics of friendship or of preventing fraud, then
the artist deserves the embarrassment.

If I were the friend, I would insist that the artist come forward and
offer an authentic  replacement to the museum, hopefully minimizing the
embarrassment all around.

To simply keep one's mouth shut would be unethical.  But the irony is
that if the fraud were to be discovered and lead to scandal, the work in
question would likely become famous and valuable -- and some collectors
would undoubtedly come forward to pay handsomely for the authentic
forgery, but not a dime for an imitation.



___________________________________________________________________________

Stephen Nowlin                                 Director, Williamson
Gallery
Vice President                                  Producer, Art Center
Online
Art Center College of Design
www.artcenter.edu
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