On Sat, 4 Apr 2009 11:25:03 +0200 Star Meyer
<[log in to unmask]> writes:

> Clauses forbidding manipulation in any way of the image deriving from 
> one's museum/collection are a good idea, in my opinion, in order to 
> protect the public image of the museum and its collection.

Much as I hate to disagree with a listmate with such a delightful name, I
must switch my curator hat for my designer hat and point out that it is
often counterproductive for an institution to restrict the use of an
image it holds in the public trust with a blanket injunction against any
manipulation (let's assume for the moment that case-by-case decisions by
a rights committee that meets every month or quarter is about the same as
an absolute ban). If I am designing an exhibit, part of which points out
the fact that cattle grazed on Boston Common, and your institution has a
painting of Boston that shows the Common (with its cattle) over in one
corner and if you insist that I use the whole thing or nothing and I
therefore choose not to use the whole thing because it doesn't really
show what I need to show, who wins. I don't, you don't, and most
important the audience doesn't.

Star used the example of a face replacement on a copy of the Venus de
Milo and suggested that if the Louve had allowed this to be produced that
viewers would somehow think less highly of the institution. This is, of
course, different from cropping a painting or photo, but it is her
example. I would suggest that anyone viewing this example who recognized
the original would:
1) know that the original is a statue and therefore any 2-dimentional
version is a derivative work and
2) figure that the museum had no control over the reproduction since the
original is way out of copyright and
3) that each and every one of us has an equal right to muck around with
all world-heritage objects since all of them really belong to, well, each
and every one of us.

These two examples deal with history/illustration and design/satire. But
another common use of museum objects is discussions of  art history.
Would your institutional policy prevent me from using an enlargement of 
a small portion of a painting from your collection in an exhibit or
publication if I happened to be doing a comparative analysis of brush
strokes?

I know that I echo all of us on the list when I say that our thoughts go
out to our Italian colleagues and the we hope that Star and her museum
are OK. Best, David

David Haynes                         [log in to unmask]                  
   San Antonio

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