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The death at age 38 of film and recording star Mario Lanza may have been related to a controversial weight loss program based on a hormone derived from the urine of pregnant women. The diet was developed in the 1950's and debunked in the 1960's, but has undergone a recent revival and is touted on numerous Web sites. Lanza's career in film, recording and live performance reached its height in the late 1940's and through the 1950's. His operatic voice and style inspired some of the world's greatest singers, including the three tenors, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.
"Mario Lanza was a massive over-eater with major weight problems, which he attempted to correct through one crash diet after another," says Philip A. Mackowiak, M.D., professor and vice chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and founder of the school's Historical Clinicopathological Conference, a yearly event devoted to the modern medical diagnosis of disorders that affected prominent historical figures. Dr. Mackowiak and Lanza biographer Armando Cesari have written an article that recounts the highs and lows of Lanza's life in the January issue of The Pharos, the journal of Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honorary society.
By the age of 22, Lanza, who was 5'7″, ballooned to 260 pounds. In 1947, he signed a seven-year film contract with MGM after Louis B. Mayer heard him perform at a live concert. The contract required him to make movies for six months a year, leaving him free to appear in concerts the remaining months. Lanza would crash diet in order to look good on screen, going down to 169 pounds when making movies at the height of his career. He would then regain the weight during drinking and eating binges when he did not have to appear in front of the camera.
In 1957, two years before his death, Lanza entered a weight loss program that was developed by Dr. Albert T.W. Simeons of the Salvatore Mundi International Hospital in Rome. The diet included daily doses of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and food intake of no more than 500 calories a day. A book written by an infomercial marketer in 2007 has sparked renewed interest in the diet.
hCG is made by the placenta during pregnancy and can be measured as a test for pregnancy. More is known now than in Lanza's day about the qualities of the hormone. hCG has a structure similar to that of thyroid stimulating hormone. "If given in sufficient quantity and duration, it can induce a condition known as thyrotoxicosis," says Dr. Mackowiak, who is also director of medical care at the VA Maryland Health Care System. "The body's metabolism speeds up, causing sudden weight loss, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, sweating and irritability."
It is not known whether Lanza was given enough hCG to cause thyrotoxicosis, but he lost an astonishing 30 pounds in his first nine days at the Salvatore Mundi International Hospital and another 44 pounds in the next three months, leaving him tired and drawn in appearance. "Such precipitous weight loss could not have resulted from a reduction in his intake of calories alone, but might have been possible if Lanza had been rendered thyrotoxic as a result of large doses of hCG," says Dr. Mackowiak.
The hormone has been approved for treatment of some medical conditions, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the use of hCG for weight loss. Utilizing hCG for weight loss is considered an "off label" use. Since 1975, the FDA has required labeling and advertising of hCG to state:
"hCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or 'normal' distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets."
Besides obesity, Mario Lanza's health was complicated by other issues, says Dr. Mackowiak. By his mid-30's, he suffered from hypertension, liver failure, coronary artery disease and thrombophlebitis of his right leg. He died suddenly in the morning of October 7, 1959. His medical records were meager and an autopsy was not performed. Dr. Mackowiak says Lanza's death could have been due to any one of a number of disorders. He could have had a heart attack. He could have had a pulmonary embolism related to his phlebitis. "It is also possible," says Dr. Mackowiak, "that he was thyrotoxic as a result of the hormone treatment. One of its consequences is a cardiac arrhythmia, which can result in sudden cardiac death."
"Medical research looks toward the future to understand disease processes, improve patient care and develop cures," says E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Knowledge of the past can help guide researchers toward the future. Dr. Mackowiak is a worldwide leader in analyzing the health of famous people in the past and applying the results of that analysis to the teaching of medical students, trainees and practitioners today."
Dr. Mackowiak's collaboration with Armando Cesari came after Mr. Cesari suggested Mario Lanza as a potential subject for one of Dr. Mackowiak's Historical Clinicopathological Conferences. They decided to write the article instead.
For patient inquiries, call 1-800-492-5538 or click here to make an appointment.
Contact: Bill Seiler firstname.lastname@example.com
Ellen Beth Levitt email@example.com 410-328-8919


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Generally a search committee is made up of no less than three people, including the chair of the committee. There is no set number, but there should be few enough members that schedules and discussion can be managed effectively, and enough members to ensure diverse perspectives and insights. The membership of a search committee should reflect the diversity of the campus. Women and minorities should be included on the committee. To achieve this in less diverse departments, consider asking students, faculty, or staff members from other departments to serve on the committee.
The vice president or designee shall appoint a search committee to consist of about 3 - 7 members, and should include persons of both genders and (where practical) minority members.Committee appointments are typically representative of the following constituents:
The committee should include at least one member whose specialty is similar to qualifications listed for the position, and one member who is knowledgeable about Black Hills State University hiring and Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action policies.
One member will be designated chair. The responsibilities of the chair are to ensure that all members of the committee understand the assignment of the committee, understand the rules and requirements under which the committee must operate, and to lead the interviewing and subsequent committee discussions. The search chair has the responsibility of ascertaining that the committee is aware of the university's commitment to equal opportunity and the procedures that will be used in reviewing applications and materials that are received for any particular position.
During the review process, the search chair is responsible for meeting with the hiring manager and/or hiring manager assistant (HM/HMA) to provide him/her with information that the hiring manager can use to change the status for each applicant on an on-going basis. Prior to the first meeting, the HR Office will confirm the individuals' appointments by email, which will outline the specific instructions regarding the committee's responsibilities. If the search chair or the committee have questions regarding any search procedure(s), the chair shall request clarification from the university's human resources director/affirmative action officer.
The charge of the search committee is to provide an equitable process to screen and interview applicants for a vacant position. They should uphold BHSU's commitment to a policy of equal opportunity in faculty and staff employment and personnel actions as well as other areas of operation without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. They should be aware of the procedures used in reviewing applications and materials that are received for a particular position. The committee is a "search and screen" committee only. Usually, the search committee will forward their recommendation of qualified candidates for consideration to the hiring manager. Final determination of the candidate that is to be hired is made by the President through the Vice President of the applicable area.
Consider inviting a member of the Human Resources Office to an early meeting of the search committee to discuss affirmative action concerns, procedures and recruitment strategies. If the search chair or committee members have questions regarding the search procedure(s), the chair shall request clarification from the university's Human Resources Director/Affirmative Action Officer.
Within the charge of the committee, as outlined in the appointment memo, the committee is responsible for the following:
The hiring manager will ensure that a job description will be available for use by the search committee.
Forming a search committee as soon as possible after determining a vacancy can decrease the challenges in dealing with publication deadlines, payroll cut-offs, visa delays, etc. Publication deadlines can often be more than a month prior to the publication date and visa processing can take six months or more.
The committee is advised about confidentiality. Good candidates may withdraw if they believe their candidacy is not treated confidentially. This is especially important when there are internal candidates for a position. To maintain the highest level of confidentiality, remember these guidelines:
The committee might receive applications from individuals who do not have information in YourFuture, the online employment system. The applicant is required to complete the online NFE/Faculty application for the committee to consider any additional material received by email or regular mail. All additional materials received shall be reviewed by the committee.
There will be instances when an applicant "status" will be at "Special Handling." Special Handling means that an individual has preference, and must be included in each step of the process and, if they meet the minimum qualifications for the position, must receive at least an initial interview.
Human Resources Black Hills State University 1200 University Street Unit #9568 Spearfish, SD 57799-9502 605.642.6877 email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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First off, in case you haven't checked it out already, there is a fabulous and cutting edge blog called Splinter of the Mind that explores issues related to spirituality, consciousness, and where we can get off track in our quest for enlightenment. Author Bronte Baxter is one of the wisest voices to come on the scene in a long, long time, and her essays will have you considering your own quest in a whole new way, with fresh levels of discernment and insight. This is a blogger to watch, no doubt about it.
Her latest post talks about the love experience and how love is a wonderful thing, yet it can be used to manipulate sincere spiritual seekers by forcing them to forego attending to their own needs and "surrendering" the ego, which can be very dangerous. Read her post here, it's great:
Attracting More Flies with Honey – How Love and Oneness Teachings Are Used to Disempower.
I was thinking about these issues myself after writing an essay here about love the other day. If you missed it, you can catch it here:
If Love is the Answer, What is the Question?.
I think it's so important to keep an eye open about how the expression of love and a sincere desire to help one's fellow man can be manipulated. First off, world religions are cults which usually sucker people into joining by blasting new members with tons of love, to the point where the person can be very vulnerable. If you've been lonely and at odds with the world and you suddenly find a brotherhood or sisterhood of people who claim to "get" you, who seem to love and appreciate you despite your many imperfections, then it's very easy to fall into lockstep with that group and sign up to become a member.
Along the way, you'll probably be shown lots of nice writings or quotes from that religion, all of which will of course be talking about love, healing, enlightenment, and so on. So you get sold on a very attractive package.
But since religions are overshadowed by Custodial presences, and your guard is going to be down, you're going to be inviting these presences into your life through your new religious practice – without even realizing it. And pretty soon you're caught up in rituals and practices designed to invite these "gods" into your auric field and allowing them to overtake your life.
Bronte Baxter writes a lot about the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement, which she was a part of for some years. She talks about how she gradually came to see the dark side of this group, which has as part of its core spiritual practice the daily invocation of "mantras" which turn out to be the names of ancient Hindu gods. (Hint: I smell a Custodian!) Kudos to her for so bravely and eloquently speaking out about this little known fact. TM is often seen as a benign thing. Celebrities like radio host Howard Stern, director David Lynch, and scores of others talk about TM as if it were just a simple little act of meditating each day to clear your mind and access positive feelings.
Positive feelings and a false kind of euphoria can be caused by a lot of things – including self-hypnosis, having one's auric field overenergized by Custodial energies, and other forms of manipulation that are common in most spiritual practices.
So how do we distinguish between a genuine communion with Source, or a divine intelligence and consciousness of infinite love, and a manipulated experience of dialing up the Custodians and getting a quick energy rush?
That's the challenge all sincere spiritual seekers face.
We know that through self-hypnosis and biofeedback techniques that we can turn positive feelings on like a light switch. Various techniques like deep breathing, getting in touch with love within your own heart, and relaxation can conjure up a host of endorphins, and these natural chemicals can give you a wonderful feeling. Depending on the intensity of the experience, you can go from feeling just a bit better, more able to cope with stress, to finding yourself filled with euphoria and what seems like a divinely induced form of bliss.
But is it?
I question these things myself. Even though I try to use my own heart, empathy, and capacity for love as a gauge which helps me determine who and what I engage with, I know that this can be manipulated. I have often been tricked into thinking that someone cared about me or was benevolent toward me, only to be viciously attacked – both personally and psychically – by that same person later on in a very sudden and devastating way.
So just how good of a judge are we about whether someone (or something) is good for us?
And when it comes to metaphysics and the pursuit of communing with a loving energy, how can we gauge the various entities and energies that come along? "Angels," "spiritual guides," and a wide range of annointed presences like Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, and Mary can appear to us in meditation or in moments of psychic opening, but are these beings really good for us?
We tend to think that they are because connecting with them often triggers a strong "awakening" experience where certain things happen in our brain and our mind, and we can be flooded with feelings of bliss. The classic spiritual awakening event or "peak experience" usually involves some glimpse of these "divine beings," and it's usually coupled with immensely pleasurable bodily sensations and joyful emotional surges.
But is this happening because we are connecting with a divine being? Or is the process of us sincerely reach out to discover more about our spiritual natures something that can be tracked and monitored? And is a "messenger" or "mediator" instantly sent to us to try to manipulate our perceptions so we'll remain locked in the jail that the Custodians have created for us?
The translation for the word "angel" is "messenger," and the angels of the Bible were said to be PHYSICAL messengers of the gods. Or of God.
Just because a being can travel between dimensions, or just because we BELIEVE that it can, doesn't mean that that being is necessarily divine in origin.
We're very sophisticated now about understanding technology. Many of these "angels" or "guides" could easily be holographic projections. They could be ET's or other interdimensional travellers who do not necessarily have our best interests at heart. If they are able to use sophisticated electromagnetic pulses or hypnosis or subliminal suggestion, they could probably induce just about any type of experience in us. They could make us feel bliss and love by stimulating the right brain. They could flood us with a sense of connecting to something powerful and wonderful by manipulating our chakra or energy centers, blasting them with energy in some way. Or during an abduction experience, they could inject us with various drugs that also induce a chemical high, fooling us into thinking they're the "good aliens."
The problem is that just about EVERY form of communication we have been conditioned to believe might be talking with angels, guides, or some form of Godhead (those "ascended masters" like Buddha, Jesus, etc.) could actually be a falsified experience.
Which is very sad, since many seekers who are working toward being careful and discerning in their spiritual practice still use a feeling-based approach as their guidance system.
I myself have long tried to use this approach. If I sense a loving being who emits kindness and concern, or happiness and play, then I will tend to trust it or at least give it the benefit of the doubt. I've had so many experiences with presences that are the complete opposite – beings whose energy and intention I can only describe as deeply demonic and hateful – that I know what the opposite energy feels like.
Let's put it this way. I'm not one to be overly impressed by materializations in my bedroom during a moment of prayer or heart-based connection with Source. Because I've seen my share of good, bad, and indifferent entities, some physical, some seemingly nonphysical or interdimensional.
But over time, I have learned to question everything.
The thing that is confusing for me is that I have been able to access many separate memories of having known the actual man Jesus in a past life. I have many specific things I've recalled about knowing him. I didn't know him very well in that past life, but I did help organize several gatherings where he talked to people and taught them interesting things and told them stories in a system of caves. These were joyful get togethers, always held at night, and the man I saw was gentle, filled with laughter, and definitely connected to divine understanding in a really unique way.
Separate from these past life tidbits – these moments of recall that have come to me over the years – I have also meditated or prayed and learned more about Jesus and the spiritual help he apparently has been trying to bring humanity since he left this physical plane. He has never claimed to be an angel, he has never claimed to be God or a Son of God. In fact, he has always told me to ignore the Bible and just focus on connecting with a loving spiritual Creator. (Notice how he makes a distinction between a PHYSICAL creator (i.e. the Custodians who feel they have ownership over humanity) and a SPIRITUAL one (more of a divine Source or Mind of God type of energy.)
This being has seemed filled with integrity, although still very much human, and not a perfect being by any stretch of the imagination. He has expressed a lot of sorrow about how his image and his words were completely distorted over time and his ideas were hijacked and manipulated by the Romans, who founded the horrifically brutal satanic organization known as the Catholic Church. He has told me that pretty much nothing that he actually taught or said survives in the texts that we have now.
I can't reconcile my own personal experiences with the being I believe to be Jesus with the warnings that many writers have published about how all communications with Jesus are holographic projections from ET ships or satellites because it doesn't add up for me, based on my personal experiences.
I have been able to access a lot of past life memories over the years, and good portions of these recollections have been independently confirmed by people I've met over time in this life, where they just happen to mention something from one of those same past lifetimes, and we figure out how we connected as family, fellow warriors, or lovers in that past lifetime. My recollections of Jesus have not been particularly emotionally charged, and they haven't had any signs of Custodial influence to them because the memories have arrived in the same way as my other memories – in bits and pieces, with a realism and clarity that is very lucid and direct, and which make total sense within the overall fabric of things I've gone through in this life.
So. . . . for me, the jury is still out on Jesus.
I feel that the Jesus myth is one concocted by Custodial and negative beings because he himself has told me about their lies and manipulations. And many things that other people describe in relation to communicating with him seem off to me – such as A Course in Miracles, the channeled book alleged to have been dictated by Jesus to Helen Schucman, which is a horrible and incoherent thing that preaches a lot of anti-self, "ego as bad," "surrender yourself to the Custodians" crappola. None of that book resonates with what the being I've been in contact with has to say.
So I think his name and image are used a lot by the Custodians to create confusion and to manipulate people into thinking they've had a genuine experience with him, and this is terrible.
After I first began having some of my recall of knowing Jesus in past lives I encountered several other people in my social circle who also remembered past lives where they met him, and without my describing anything about what I saw or heard, they each described the same exact physical details about him. (Details which, I should add, are not commonly mentioned about him.)
So either we were all manipulated in our past life recollections, or we're truly remembering seeing and speaking with the same person. . . who was not an ET but a human man. Of course, his genes may have been tampered with to create a kind of super being, because he possessed amazing psychic gifts, and the whole story of his conception is a little funky (Virgin mom or artificially inseminated mom? You decide.)
Certainly, we each need to explore these issues in our own way, and with great care and objectivity.
And most importantly we need to understand how feelings of bliss, of oneness, and other joyful sensations can be triggered by things going on in the right brain – and unfortunately these effects can be generated through technology and sophisticated forms of mental tampering.
So I guess the thing I DO know is that love is good. . .
Loving others at the expense of taking care of yourself is not good. . .
"Surrendering" or "merging" with an entity believed to be God, ascended masters, etc., is a BAD idea, because no truly enlightened being would want you to obliterate your uniqueness or knowingly give up your spiritual sovereignty. . .
And I still love Jesus. That is, I honor the teachings and energy of a man I've had intriguing glimpses of, and a teacher who once in a while has brought me some amazing gifts of insight which have allowed me to be more productive, more fully engaged with life, and more filled with love in my heart.
I just don't much like the Custodial manipulation that seems to have happened around him, because it's led people out of personal power and into war, escapism, and religious conflict.
Jesus never wanted a cult to form around him. He actually told his students to prevent that from happening.
Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well.
Filed under: Christianity | Tagged: ascended masters, buddha, channel Jesus, course in miracles, jesus, krishna, mary, schucman | 9 Comments »


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UK Company Successfully Claims Ownership of "Pinterest" Trademark
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Last Updated: January 6, 2014
judgecorp writes "Pinterest could be in trouble — a British firm has successfully claimed ownership of the European trademark 'Pinterest', even though it has not yet used the term in any public products. Pinterest was formed in 2011, and popular by 2011, but did not launch in Europe until 2012 — months after the UK company Premium Interest had registered the trademark. That trademark has now been confirmed by the European Commission's Office for the Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). Since so much of Pinterest's business is based on its name, the ruling could force Pinterest to change its name — a move which has precedents: Microsoft is changing the name of Skydrive because it infringes the trademark of British broadcaster BSkyB, normally known as Sky."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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Art + Law National Conference Live Blog
Michelle and Kat are in Ottawa, volunteering at the Art + Law National Conference for Arts Lawyers and Visual Artists, and will be live blogging the event. Refresh for new content. Also check us out on Twitter.
Friday, 12 pm – Carfac, the organization that has set up the conference, is a national non-profit that protects the rights of professional visual artists. Michelle and Kat are both legal interns at the association.
The conference "will bring together lawyers with experience in arts and entertainment law, ranging from copyright and contract law, to estate planning, tax, labour, and more", along with Canadian artists.
Friday, 12:25 pm – Today, the conference involves a series of events for lawyers: keynote by Henry Lydiate, presentations of case studies on artist legal clinics, then breakout group discussions on the future of artist legal clinics. Registration has started and some of the speakers are already here.
Friday, 12:45 pm – The conference officially kicks off at 1 pm, with opening remarks.
Friday, 1:20 pm – In her welcome remarks, April Britski, Executive Director of Carfac, is providing an overview of the conference and the day's events.
Ms. Britski says the conference is intended as an "opportunity to connect the artists and legal communities".
Today's session is entirely on the topic of legal clinics, in Canada and elsewhere. Tomorrow is on labour and copyright, then Sunday will involve a discussion on the artist's resale right. Attendees are invited to comment, question and discuss, even when not presenting. There will be legal breakout groups on various other areas of interest – such as estates and tax issues.
There are also a number of social activities and a gallery hop tomorrow.
Friday, 1:27 pm – Grant McConnell, President and National Spokesperson for CARFAC, is now speaking on the importance of maintaining links between artists and lawyers. Visual artists are one of the "lowest paid professional groups" and need help.
Friday, 1:30 pm – Alain Pineau, from the Canadian Conference of the Arts. Mr. Pineau is looking forward to moderating the panel tomorrow on copyright and Bill C-11.
Friday, 1:35 pm – Keynote speaker Henry Lydiate, founder of ArtLaw and arts lawyer at the Henry Lydiate Partnership.
His current consultancy portfolio consists of a wide variety of groups, including buyers and sellers.
Mr. Lydiate says he also does consulting for government groups. He was invited to help with the development of artist agreements related to works at the 4th Plinth at Trafalgar Square, in London. One example of a piece that was put on at the Plinth is "One & Other" (2009), by Anthony Gormley.
He also facilitated the exhibition of Ai Weiwei's "Sunflower Seeds" (2010) at the Tate Modern.
All this work is in a field that needs more art lawyers – so how can we lawyers and law students enter this area? As an example, Mr. Lydiate is running through his biography.
He began by working at the Neighbourhood Law Centre Cambridge. Artists stopped by with their problems and Mr. Lydiate provided legal services at low or no cost. Then he researched to discover what artist legal clinics existed, and the Bay Area clinic became a model. California had significant legal protection through the California Resale Royalty Act of 1976.
Also in the late 1970s, Mr. Lydiate got in touch with Carfac. The founder, Jack Chambers, established public exhibition payments as a legal right for artists in Canada.
In 1978 to 1983, Mr. Lydiate set up Artlaw Services UK. The organization became so popular and significant in terms of the positive effect on artists that Mr. Lydiate was then asked to do something similar in Yugoslavia, Australia, and other countries.
The legal needs of artists, according to Mr. Lydiate, are the provision of legal advice by lawyers with knowledge and experience of the visual art world, who specialize in dealing with such problems.
Another issue is that artists often do not know now how to manage their own affairs as a business.
Good art lawyers should know the trade practices of art business in order to be able to provide sound legal advice; about intellectual property rights; how auctions function for buyers and sellers, and what the legal recourse is in the case of provenance issues; business formation; censorship; confidentiality and privacy; contract formation and disputes on an international basis; debt; artwork recovery in the case of a bankrupt gallery; defamation; employment; export controls, imports, taxation and illicit trade; fakes, forgeries and fraud; gifts, whether absolute or conditional; health and safety issues; insurance; international private law; international public law; principals and agents; law of product liability; studio leases and licensing; personal and business taxation; wills and estates; zoning and planning; trusts and foundations; and tax-exempt organizations.
However many art lawyers are not prepared to work in all these areas with the expertise required. They cannot simply help artists out of holes, and instead need to provide long-term business support for their clients.
Example of Stephen Conroy, an artist from the '80s out of Glasgow who became very famous. He signed a contract with a London Gallery without legal advice. The contract "tied his hands", so he approached Mr. Lydiate, who got him out of the agreement. This was a successful artist who went through art school, but never gained the skills he needed to run his business and deal with legal problems.
Artists' lawyers can widen their practices to target more economic art business clients and the related needs. These can include art market professionals (agents, dealers, consultants and advisers); auctioneers and auction houses; buyers and sellers; investors and investment funds. Yearly, $60 billion passes through the art world – lawyers can have a piece of that.
Moving into the area of trusts and foundations is possible, and important in dealing with retirement and pension matters. Lydiate set up a foundation for Picasso, and one for Henry Moore. In terms of legal history, he advises interested parties to look into the Mark Rothko trust case.
Institutions and organizations need legal advice and support. UNESCO works with the re-patriation of artworks. Other organizations include ICOM, Unidroit, CISAC, WIPO.
Art crime law enforcement agencies are also in need of lawyers specializing in art law. Interpol, for example, has an art crime unit. There are some notable art thefts. Public institutions are easy targets because they do not tend to secure the works. Some of the works are never found – such as Caravaggio's painting "Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence".
Niche practice areas for art lawyers are numerous. In the primary market: contemporary artists and antiquities – whether sold legally or illegally. In the secondary market: modern, impressionist, old masters and antiquities. Also Asia, as China is now the largest art market in the world, with a "massive amount of activity".
Hot art law topics include: the restitution of war looted art (Republic of Austria v Altmann, 2004; Foreign Soverign Immunities Act, 1976); illegally exported cultural objects (Italy v Marion True, 2005-2010); authentication, which is now required by artists; vetting at art fairs (TFAF Maastricht is the gold standard, but the other large fairs do not even have vetting commities); questions around immunity from suit for scholars, experts, catalogue raisonne authors; the contracts around public art (the destruction of "Tilted Arc" by Richard Serra, who then sued the US Government over it); import taxes (look into "Bird in Space", by Constantin Brancusi, 1923); resale right; emerging practices and sales (how to sell a performance piece?; how to sell illegally sited pieces, such as graffiti by Banksy?); image appropriation and violation of copyright law.
End of Mr. Lydiate's keynote speech.
Friday, 2:20 pm: Discussion on Artist Legal Clinic Case Studies, with the first speaker, Martha Rans.
Ms. Rans is the founder of Vancouver's Artist's Legal Outreach (ALO). Ms. Rans says the whole point of artist legal clinics is to make advice accessible to as many artists as possible, in all disciplines. Canada is a large country but small population-wise, and that makes it difficult to maintain a private practice in art law, or an art clinic. We're not a very prominent country in the art world. Therefore, Ms. Rans proposes a network of artist clinics across the country that can work together, taking advantage of expert lawyers in various areas of law. This model could be a successful method of getting legal advice to all artists who need it.
ALO operates online, primary as a virtual clinic. It offers a weekly session for all artists living and working within BC. There are six lawyers who work in different areas. ALO also has a database with educational materials, including common forms.
Artists generally have copyright or contract-related questions. ALO cannot deal with trademarks or patents issues.
Q: How do the legal fees work at the clinic?
A: Ms. Rans charges $200 an hour in her private practice. This is at the low end of rates for legal advice. ALO is not government-funded.
Friday, 2:41 pm: Panelist Keith Serry, from Clinique juridique des artistes de Montreal (CJAM).
Mr. Serry began his career as a freelance music journalist and became interested in copyright issues for creators. The musicians he knew who were successful were similar to small business people, and were more entrepreneurial than their less well off colleagues. Then as a law student, he pursued this idea with a group of friends and they developed the concept of a community legal clinic directed at artists. Rather than a geographic community, it would be the artistic community of the island of Montreal.
His group spent time seeking funding. The central feedback they got was that unless the clinic model could be a proven success, no one would provide financing. So the group set it up on their own in 2009. There are three service lines: 1) a monthly one-on-one session with a law student. Questions must be related to their artistic practice. Within ten business days, legal information, not legal advice, is provided. 2) a workshops program where expert lawyers speak to artists. If artist groups provide the resources, they can arrange private workshops. 3) FAQs available online.
The goal is to have CJAM operate like a legal clinic, with an executive director in an office. The infrastructure of the organization was never developed, and this will have to be dealt with in the future.
Martha Rans comments on CJAM and says its success is due to taking the services to the artists, not expecting them to search it all out.
Friday, 2:53 pm: Louis E. Greenwald, volunteer at California Lawyers for the Arts.
Mr. Greenwald had worked for ten years as a volunteer attorney at the organization. It is very common for lawyers to be placed in volunteer positions or in apprenticeships at arts and culture organizations in the US.
California Lawyers for the Arts provides alternative dispute resolution services for artists, on a sliding fee scale. The more money an artist makes, the more they pay – the fee for an income below $25,000 is $25/ hour. The organizations also provides basic clauses to be included in contracts; a referral service, also on a fee scale and aimed at making a good fit between the client and the lawyer; workshops presented by lawyers, not all of whom are in the organization; art law trips, a future one being to Cuba.
Artists in California face a wide array of different challenges. One common problem in these tough economic times is that after a dispute, artists attempt to get their work back from a gallery. California galleries tend to include a forum selection clause in their standard artist agreements where any legal battle must be undertaken in Florida or New York. An artist therefore needs a lawyer to fight for them in preventing the need to go to another state. A similar issue arises where galleries go bankrupt, and artists seek the return of their art.
Artists also sometimes have to fight for payment. Galleries need to make business decisions, and choose between paying the rent or paying the artists – and they tend to pay the rent. Mr. Greenwald says he often has to write demand letters in order to deal with such situations.
Galleries are very sophisticated nowadays. The standard contracts they use are twenty to thirty pages long, and "extremely one-sided". Artists are afraid not to sign the contract, as they fear being replaced with an artist who won't make a fuss. Volunteer arts organizations therefore are critical in providing information on contracts, and how to deal with such clauses.
Another issue Mr. Greenwald mentions is artists' moral rights. In the United States, that refers to an artist's right to prevent the intentional destruction, modification of the original work of art. Laws provide those moral rights to artists.
When it comes to setting up a legal clinic, there are a few things that have been very successful: the organization has a database that includes detailed information on every volunteer attorney, including their practice area; an equitable referral service based on a set procedure; client intake is done properly, including determination of the adverse party in order to quickly assess any potential conflicts for the lawyer.
Friday, 3:20 pm: Q & A for the Artist Legal Clinic Case Studies panel discussion.
Q: Insurance issues, and the use of lawyers, not law students to provide advice.
A – Martha Rans: Doesn't worry about the insurance because the best protection for a clinic is to ensure the people providing advice know what they are doing. "I love all you students in the room, but don't practice on artists."
Q: Suggestion that showing a potential insurer a list of past cases will be a good way to gain the proper insurance.
A – Louis E Greenwald: Farming out work to lawyers means only the individual lawyers or their firms need insurance, not the organization.
Q: As an artist, how to know which gallery will treat you well?
Q: How to set fundamental terms and conditions in contracts, and minimum standards for dealing with artists?
Q: There should be consideration of how artists contribute to the economy in order to show governments strong arguments for funding of artist clinics. Another suggestion is for lawyers to respect the concept of pro-bono and seek to volunteer.
Friday, 3:45 pm: Break.
Friday, 4:15 pm: Breakout group discussion on various topics. We won't be live blogging during the discussions, and will be back with our live blog during the welcome and opening remarks at 10:15 am tomorrow.
Tonight, attendees will go to a welcome dinner at the Lord Elgin, then there is a welcome reception and Visual Arts Advocacy Award presentation at the Ottawa Art Gallery.
Saturday Morning, recap from last night's breakout groups and award ceremony: There were three breakout groups discussing how to make legal clinics sustainable, how to incorporate technology into legal clinics, how to work on funding for legal clinics. At the end of the discussion we agreed that three key steps for successful legal clinics are:
1. Collaboration
2. Communication
3. Cooperation
Last night there was an opening reception for both streams of the conference, lawyers and artists. The event presented Pat Durr with the Visual Arts Advocacy Award for her work as an artist, activist, volunteer and teacher in the Canadian arts scene for more than 40 years. David Yazbeck was also honoured for his excellent work representing CARFAC in their complaint against the National Gallery. It was a great event to kick off the conference!
Saturday, 10:00 am - The room is filling up, people are getting ready for the day's events to begin.
Saturday 10:30 am - CARFAC National President, Grant McConnell, giving opening remarks. Expressing his excitement at having artists and lawyers working together for a common cause, to increase the status of artists in Canada.
Barbara Gamble, Ottawa artist and CARFAC Board Member, explaining the upcoming renovations to Ottawa Arts Court, a rejuvenation of a former court house to a wonderful modern municipal art gallery. Very exciting for many who worked so hard to establish this gallery, a gallery Ottawa should be proud of. Being the home of the Federal Government, Ottawa is a great place to be discussing these important topics this weekend, says Gamble.
Alain Pineau, director of Canada Council for the Arts, explaining the CCA's excitement at being involved in the conference. This conference is an opportunity for the CCA to 'experiment' with their member organizations. Art and law are very high on the CCA's agenda, because of the copyright reform (BIll C-11).
Saturday, 10:40 am - First panel of the day, Art + Labour. Panelists are Lise Letourneau (visual artist and representative from RAAV), Charles Smith (Lecturer in Cultural Pluralism in the Arts at U of T), PIerre Tessier (visual artist and co-chair of the CARFAC/RAAV bargaining committee) and David Yazbeck (Partner at Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP). The panel is moderated by Melissa Gruber (National Advocacy and Communications Director, CARFAC).
According to an arts advocacy group in the UK, only 57% of arts organizations offered to pay artists anything in the recession year of 2010. This panel will look at attempts to improve the situations in which artists work, best practices and attempts to set up best practice codes for the visual arts sector, bargaining, challenging the visual arts sector face, and tools and strategies we can use in labour negotiations.
Charles Smith starting off the panel with "The Changing Face of the Arts in Canada, and Income/Labour disparities." Smith has a long history of working in this area. Says it is, on one hand, difficult to talk about this topic because throughout his career not much has changed, but on another hand, we must keep talking about it because arts and culture shape and reflect society. We need it to tell stories, to explain realities and reflect the lives we lead.
Smith will be looking at demographic changes socially and throughout the country; labour force and arts labour force disparities; disparities in artists' earnings; population projections (this is where we are going); and interests in the Arts and Strategies. If action is not taken in the next little while to address these issues, we risk facing what some call "Canada's Economic Apartheid."
Smith looking at demographics in Canada and labour force disparities. For example, the Conference Board of Canada suggests that immigrants account for 33% of Canada's economic growth in 2011. Aboriginal peoples comprise 2.4% of artists but ar 2.9% of the overall labour force or a downward swing of 0.5%. Racialized people comprise 11% of all artists but are 15% of the overall labour force or a downward swing of 4%. A challenge for artists, and arts organizations, is to engage artists who come from equity seeking groups.
What does this mean in terms of artist's income and disparities? Racialized artists earnings were 11% less than other artists while earnings for Aboriginal artists were less than 28% than other artists, for example. What does this mean in terms of engagement in the arts? Racialized communities are more engaged that their White counterparts in arts learning and skills aquisiton. Aboriginal communities are more actively engaged in visiting galleries and museums. Challenge: how do we work towards more actively engaging all of these different communities? This is what we need to work on in the future. Years ago artists were saying 'we can't wait,' artists are now saying 'now we won't wait.'
Saturday 11:15 - David Yazbeck, now speaking about traditional collective bargaining in labour law and comparisons/similarities between the Status of the Artists Act and strategies available for visual artists under this legislation. In theory, there are many similarities between typical labour law and the Act, for example, parties have the right to serve legal notice to bargain. This is what CARFAC and Yazbeck did again the National Gallery, and compelled them to bargain in good faith. There are provisions that require these notices to be served to the Labour Minister, which is meant for moderating purposes, to ensure that the process is working. What is most important about the Act is that it defines pressure tactics, which are things artists can do to instill pressure and help come to an agreement. Typical labour law tactic is a strike. Tactics are only as good as the pressure you can apply. Organizations like CARFAC cannot withdraw any services, based on the nature of their work and the agreements.
Background about CARFAC's complaint against the National Gallery, one of the key issues for CARFAC/RAAV was about copyright, and negotiating a binding minimum fee that would pertain to the agreement. This has been going on for 10 years… a few years ago after seemingly successful negotiations, the National Gallery got a new bargaining committee and suddenly refused to negotiate copyright, out of nowhere. This withdrawal was based on a difference in legal opinions, and talks were at an end. CARFAC/RAAV took the position that the National Gallery was negotiating in poor faith by doing that. After a lengthly hearing, the tribunal agreed that the National Gallery was in fact negotiating in bad faith. CARFAC/RAAV was successful! However, ever since the ruling, the National Gallery seems to disregard the ruling of the tribunal.
Yazbeck talking now about the right to strike. Labour law is not all about providing the right to strike. It is actually about limiting the right to strike. You can only strike in certain situations, where you've negotiated and have been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, in the Status of the Artists Act, you don't have the power to strike. Tactics that can be used include picketing, and demonstrations, but these are not necessarily successful, they are not hitting the Gallery in the pocketbook, which is most successful. Challenge: to work within the confines of the statute. The only thing Yazbeck can think of that might help is a provision that allows for binding arbitration. What the statute says, if you can show that your right to strike is not effective, you have a right to go to arbitration. The best option: to allow for a process to go to a third party to make a decision.
Going forward with this case: CARFAC/RAAV got a very creative ruling from the tribunal. CARFAC/RAAV asked for, and got, an order from the tribunal, to monitor the process of the collective bargaining. This would allow the tribunal to jump back in, if need be. However, immediately following the tribunal's decision, the Gallery sought a stay in the proceeding, in court and sought a judicial review of the decision. Fortunately, the court that heard the stay motion said we won't grant you a stay order, but also didn't want to make a decision on the postion. The court agreed to give an earlier hearing date. CARFAC/RAAV will be participating in the judicial review in September and hoping for positive results.
Saturday 11:30 - Lise Letourneau explaining that artists right now are in a very united, exciting place, following what has happened with the National Gallery. Lots of arts organizations are rallying together to support CARFAC/RAAV. This is a very important time for artists. RAAV has tried to come up with solutions to this issue, because they can't wait for the courts to solve the problem. RAAV is working on creating a code of best practices for artists. For example, CARFAC Saskatchewan created a code of best practices. This demonstrates that there are way to solve problems besides using the law. RAAV because translating CARFAC Saskatchewan's code so that it would reflect Quebec law. RAAV has created a series of documents, you can get from their website, that can act as resources for artists. For example: guides about exposition fees and how to address donation requests from artists. In the future, there will hopefully be another document about the will and estates that address unique needs of artists.
Letourneau talking about the process used to create these documents. If RAAV wanted the documents to be adopted (as has been done in Australia, which doesn't have the Status of the Aritsts Act) they will have to work together with lots of committees, which they are currently working on doing. They met with other consultants, for example, artists and galleries, to rework the documents in a way that works for them. So the final versions of the documents, are documents that have been adopted by all parties.
Another document RAAV is working on is a typical contract, that they hope can become a model for different galleries in Quebec, and maybe even the rest of Canada. What is important about these documents is because they are not created just in favour of artists, but for all parties. Letourneau recommends that all branches of CARFAC/RAAV should work together to create their own versions of these documents, so that all provinces in Canada can have their own versions of Best Practices documents, which will hopefully help immensely in future labour negotiations.
Saturday, 11:45: Pierre Tessier, a visual artist, now speaking about his experience in labour negotiations. from the point of view of a creator Tessier is congratulating Pat Durr on her great work for arts advocacy in Canada. When Tessier was president of RAAV, Durr was president of CARFAC National. For artists, there are 2 realities:
1. The creative process
2. The business process
We have laws and regulations in society, to protect artists, such as
UNESCO has 4 characteristics of a professional artist, based on their definition. Quebec has adopted this definition. In order to be considered a professional artist in Quebec, you need to meet the following 4 criteria:
1. Any person who creates or gives expression to, or recreates works of art,
2. Who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of his life,
3. Who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be recognised as an artist,
4. Whether or not he is bound by any relations of employment or association.
Negotiating on behalf of artists, for example, in the National Gallery case, is important as part of his role as a professional artist, say Tessier. As creators, artists are the best negotiators on behalf of artists. This sort of work takes patience and dedication, but it is important. It is a form of solidarity, this is what he has learned the most from his role as president of RAAV. We have laws to protect the public and creators, laws are created to harmonize society. The problem is that it is disappointing how hard artists have to work to be respected for the work that they do.
Saturday, 12:00 pm: Melissa Gruber opening the floor to questions from delegates.
James Fletcher, sculptor from Vancouver: Do we need to look at the question of why the public takes advantage of artists who are marginalized? Or is it because these artists undervalue themselves? Or do we even need to address this or should we present a united front, as a multicultural group?
David Smith: How do we talk about diversity without talking about concrete ways to achieve diversity? We need a commitment, and a conversation, to bring about solidarity and inclusiveness. We need to go to marginalized artists, to go where they meet, instead of saying to them 'come to us.' Many people are shocked to hear there is such a thing as the Aboriginal group of seven. We need collective groups like CARFAC to create this discourse, and promote marginalized groups.
Comment from member of the audience: Another issue is transparency… what we need is CARFAC supported/certified gallery. If I know that CARFAC endorses a gallery, because they treat artists well, I will be more inclined to go there. Why wait for the government to do it, let's do it.
Question from Grant McConnell: Thank you panelists, this is a great way to kick off the weekend. My worry is, that in a weekend like this, we say someone else needs to fix this problem. We talked about it, now someone else should fix it. What can the individual, as an artist in their studio, do?
Lise Letourneau: I think that individual artists, need to use the artists created by RAAV and CARFAC Saskatchewan for example. Artists need to be more prudent in their business practices. Make sure you sign a contract, be reluctant to waive your copyright. It is very important to use the tools that have been made available to them. Consult with CARFAC/RAAV, and don't wait until you're in trouble, do it before you enter into an agreement to protect yourself.
Question from Daniel Urban, CARFAC member: The issue of censorship bothers me a lot, I feel that Canadian artists cannot realize their potentials because of censorship, and their reputations are tarnished because of censorship. Because of censorship, I find that my reputation as a Canadian artist is damaged because the public is not informed, and Canada needs visual artists.
Charles Smith: The censorship that I look at it what do we get in terms of education (in my position as a professor). Every year I ask my students, in their formal education, how many artists that are aboriginal or GLBTQ artists, have they had? To me, that is a kind of censorship. The Eurocentric paradigm is a form of censorship; it does not have room for other perspectives. I think we need to look at censorship in a broader paradigm.
Question, James Smith on behalf of NDP Party: On the topic of best practice documents, do you see a role in the Federal government in the preparation of these documents?
Lise Letourneau: Of course there is a role, if we have the support of the government in preparing these documents, then we could maybe avoid disputes in the future such as the National Gallery case. The federal government has sway on their institutions, such as the National Gallery. If the government were to say that they support improving the status of artists, that would be great!
Charles Smith: We need to move away from the term 'best practice' to 'evidence based practice' – that means, looking at what is working.
Saturday, 12:30 pm: Break for lunch, conference to resume at 1:30 with the Copyright panel.
Saturday, 1:30 pm: Second panel of the day, Copyright: the fair, the unfair and the artists left behind' beginning now. Panel moderator, Alain Pineau (director of Canada Council of the Arts) giving opening remarks about the effect of the new copyright bill (C-11) for individual artists. C-11 is the 5th attempt by the Federal government to amend the Copyright Bill.
Saturday, 1:45 pm: Roanie Levy , director and general counsel for Access Copyright is the first panelist of the afternoon. She is talking about the 'imminent' changes to the copyright bill. She was hired 11 years ago by Access Copyright to address the imminent changes to the copyright bill. All of the exceptions in the Bill are quite ill-defined. Many of the exceptions are currently uses that are being paid for under the current Copyright Act.
Education is one of the exceptions to the Bill, added under the fair dealing provisions. Education is not defined in the Act. Just because something is used for education purposes does not mean that something is fair. Fairness is also not defined in the Act. There is some judicial discussion of what is fair, but this is not stable. What is fair under the new Act will undoubtedly lead to extensive litigation. There is also the display exception. The exception allows for any necessary reproduction in order to allow for display of the work. The question is, what qualifies as display? Unlike fair dealing, the display exception does not have to fair use, it is an absolute exception. The only trump card in this exception, is if the work is commercially available in the appropriate format.
Another exception is the Publicly Available Materials on the Internet exception. If you have uploaded one of your works onto the Internet and you haven't locked it, then an educational institute can use your work without providing you notice or providing you credit.
Saturday, 1:55 pm: Aidan O'Neill will be presenting us with the other side of the coin presented by Roanie. O'Neill has been practicing in front of the Copyright Board as a litigator for the part 25 years. O'Neill going over case-law as it relates to the C-11.
First case, SOCAN Tariff 22, an Interne tariff that had to do with fair dealing for example, Napster, iTunes etc. When people listen to 30 second previews of songs, the Copyright Board said this did not infringe fair dealing as research and therefore, nothing had to be paid to SOCAN. SOCAN was arguing that they should be paid for these 30 second previews.
Another case had to do with teachers making photocopies to distribute to students in their classroom. At this point, education was not an enumerated purpose under fair dealing exceptions in the Copyright Bill. Access Copyright claimed that they should be remunerated for these copies. Users (teachers) said they should not have to pay for these because it should be considered as fair dealing. The Supreme Court of Canada has not come back with a decision on this case yet.
Saturday, 2:10 pm: Ysolde Gendreau presenting 'Living in the Grey.' One of the new fair dealing exceptions, Parody/Satire, in bill C-11 is not necessarily a new exception for Canada. User-generated Content, however, is a much newer concept for Canada because of new technology.
When we are assessing fair dealing exceptions in Canada, there is a test to be passed to qualify. Infringing copyright through parody or fair dealing, for example, is not necessarily fair. However, bear in mind, if you aren't using a significant part of the work, you aren't infringing. Before C-11, the concept of parody was not included in the existing fair dealing exception of Criticism. In comparison, in the United States, parody is included in the fair use provision of Criticism. The Oxford Dictionary defines Parody as: an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. This is not necessarily the case for satire. Satire can be parody, but they are not one and the same. They are two separate things under the law. Gendreau has lots of examples of art works that bear remarkable similarity to one another but do not qualify as infringing for various reasons.
Saturday, 2:30 pm: Steve Seiferling will be talking about Technical Protection Measures changes in Bill C-11. In some ways, copyright has always been at war with technology. Let's go back to what is the purpose of copyright. It is a balance: granting to creators economic and moral rights in exchange for sharing their works with the public. According to Seiferling, C-11 is actually a lawyer's bill, not a consumer's bill, because it will generate a lot of litigation.
Copyright is generally a'negative' right – it is only a problem if I enforce it. Problems with copyright is that many creators cannot afford to enforce their rights. There is no real easy enforcement mechanism.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the strategy to manage your rights. DRM and CRM (Commercial Rights Management) might include background info that is affiliated with that particular author/creator. It often involved you clicking on an 'I agree' button, or a terms of use you 'agree' to by nature simply of using the website. Once DRM and CRM provisions are included in the Copyright Act, you will be able to go after people who remove these measures. The problem still remains of enforcing these rights.
How do you use these as a visual artist? Include your name, a small copyright statement (not just the year) and you can draft a terms of use agreement (think of the types of agreements you see when using software online).
Technological protection(TPM) is a different type of DRM strategy. This protection restricts access, or controls access, to a piece of work. For example, a watermark would be considered a TPM. C-11 says you cannot circumvent or remove TPMs. You cannot own a device that is designed for the circumvention of TPMs.
Unfortunately, access to justice for these issues such as copyright for artists is hard to find. Groups like CARFAC are a great way to get access/help. Other ways you can protect yourself, when you upload your work onto the web use a low resolution. If a user wants a higher resolution, charge them for it.
What about Pinterest? Works are pinned to the site, and are sometimes copyrighted. In the terms and conditions on the website, users are responsible for the images they pin, limit the liability of the site, and are responsible and liable for any litigation and other legal issues that may arise. Artists who see their work on the site have some recourse. In the US, the copyright laws permit 'safe harbour' unless the copyright owner provides notice.
What are ways to enforce your copyright in Canada? Notice and Notice. Under notice and notice provision, you see you image for example on Pinterest. You send a letter to Pinterest and say 'that's my copyright, here is legal language to prove it' in Canada, their obligation is to notify the person that put it up and that person can decide whether to take it down. In comparison, in the US they have notice and takedown – once you are notified that something is infringing copyright you are required to take it down. In Canada, once you have provided notice you are done, they have fulfilled their obligation. If the person who puts it up doesn't take it down, then you can go after them.
Saturday, 2:50 - Copyright panel now open for questions.
Question: How can we, as a visual arts organization (CARFAC/RAAV) prepare visual artists to live with the new Copyright Act?
Answer (Roanie Levy): Use technology. The answer to the machine is in the machine. However, we can no longer rely on Copyright Act to protect Copyright. Stay up to do date on the current state of the law, share your documents of 'best practices' and don't be afraid.
Question: Photography, as of this moment, has been treated differently under the Copyright Act. Has this been addressed in C-11?
Answer: Yes, the term of copyright for photographs is now the same as other works (life of the artist plus 50 years).
Saturday 3:30 pm: Up now, gallery hop! We will be back tomorrow morning with more ART + LAW content.
Sunday, 10 am: Last night we attended a reception with Spins and Needles, a mobile dance party with an incredible DJ and hands-on-art projects. Attendees were given all the materials to make their personal manifesto, whether art or law oriented. CLaw's favourite part was cutting up old 'Horizon' magazines from the '60s and '70s to add into collages.
Today executive member Kat is live blogging on the CLaw website, and Michelle is tweeting.
Sunday, 10:15 am: President Grant McConnell's opening remarks thank everyone for coming to the conference – whether they're from Ottawa or from much farther away.
Sunday, 10:20 am: The first panel today is on the Artist's Resale Right, with April Britski (National Executive Director, CARFAC), Louis E. Greenwald (Partner at Choi & Greenwald), Henry Lydiate (Partner at The Henry Lydiate Partnership LLP, Creative Arts Business Consultancy), Stephen Ranger (Vice President, Business Development, Waddingtons.ca). Moderated by Don Monet (Visual Artist and Owner/Gallerist at Cube Gallery).
Don Monet, the moderator, provides a brief introduction to the concept of ARR, which is law in California, the UK, and Europe among other jurisdictions.
Sunday, 10:21 am: April Britski of Carfac is the first speaker. The ARR pays a royalty to artists on commercial secondary sales of their work. As the first sale does not usually reflect the full value of the work, ARR would compensate artists for later sales.
While the art market in Canada is growing, artists are losing out on profits from those sales. Ms. Britski provides a few examples of secondary sales, many of which are of Inuit art.
ARR puts visual artists on a level playing field with other creators of intellectual property. The actual paint on the canvas loses value over time, so the true value in the piece is in the copyright, as it is for songs, works of literature.
ARR was first introduced in France in 1920 and exists in at least 57 countries world-wide. Although Canada was on the forefront of artists' rights by being the first the have the exhibition right, it will be late in the game for ARR.
The right would apply to all sales in Canada and any sales of Canadian art abroad, in jurisdictions where ARR is present. This is critical for fulfilling reciprocity agreements, particularly in the context of the trade negotiations between Canada and the EU.
The UK has had the ARR since 2006. 10.7 million pounds have been paid to nearly 2000 artists. The art market continues to grow, at a rate of 23% per year. ARR accounts for 0.04% of the total UK art market.
Australia has had the ARR since 2010. $600,000 has been paid from more than 3.600 sales of art to 380 artists, 60% of whom are Indigenous peoples.
Carfac recommends the term for ARR payment be the same as copyright (the life of the artist plus 50 years). There should be a $1,000 minimum qualifying sale price, 5% flat royalty rate, no cap, and joint liability. It does not apply to first sales or between private individuals. ARR should be administered by CARCC, as they regularly handle the negotiation and payment of fees to artists for use of their work.
Some MPs endorse the ARR, and some parties have officially endorsed it. The committee that has looked at the proposed bill has recommended it be re-introduced as a private members' bill. It is likely to be passed some time in the future.
Sunday, 10:37 am: The next speaker is Louis E. Greenwald, a lawyer from California who also spoke on a panel this Friday.
See here for full text of the ARR statute.
ARR applies if the secondary sale takes place in California, or if the seller resides in California. The artists then receives a royalty of 5% of the gross price. This payment must be made by the seller or the agent of the seller.
After a sale, the seller of the art or their agent has 90 days to locate the artist and pay them. If they are unable to do so, the payment must be made to the California Arts Council, which administers a program. They will attempt to seek out the artist within 7 years. If they are unable to do so, the funds are used to purchase artworks for the state of California.
Artists are also permitted to bring a lawsuit to enforce their rights, if they have not been paid. The statute of limitations is 3 years from the sale, or1 year from discovery of the sale (whichever is later). If successful, the artist is then entitled to the royalty and their legal costs.
ARR only applies in California to sales above $1,000, where the sale is for more than the previous sale of that same work. Another exception is to certain types of work – fixtures are not included, for example.
There have been some new additions to ARR, after a decision on May 17th that deemed the statute unconstitutional. ARR has been in existence since 1976, but the Court found the statute breaks the commerce clause of the US Constitution, where one state cannot enact a law to regulate the commerce of another state. The Court found the language of the statute problematic because where the artist and purchaser reside outside of the state of California, and possibly even use an auction house outside of the state. Even though only the seller is in the state, ARR applies.
However the ruling will likely be appealed, and in Mr. Greenwald's opinion, can be easily changed to reflect the concern over commerce. Also, the federal government will probably pass a federal ARR Act sometime soon, and this will make the issue moot. The federal Act aims to have a 7% royalty applying to auction houses that, in the prior year, sold $25 million or more in gross sales. Auction houses selling solely online are exempt. 3.5% of the royalty goes to the artist, and 3.5% goes to the federal government to purchase art.
Sunday, 10:55 am: Stephen Ranger of Waddington's is the next panelist.
Mr. Ranger says that despite the seeming growth of the art market, there are not a lot of potential buyers for contemporary works – "all is not doom and gloom, however!"
Waddington's organized the first contemporary auction of Canadian works. MR. Ranger believed there needed to be a legitimate secondary market. The auction house therefore established an acquisition fund, in order to purchase works and preferably place them in public institutions, where they can be seem and grow in value. Collectors, however, are not as interested in letting go of their contemporary pieces.
Although Waddington's only required a minimal consignment fee, some dealers and artists were not interested due to the cost. Mr. Ranger believes that adding an ARR royalty onto the cost would be difficult. The first step should be to establish a legitimate resale market in Canada for contemporary works.
In its current form, ARR works best for artists who have achieved success, and can be an impediment to emerging artists, as it makes sales less attractive.
Auction houses have not been part of the discussion up until now, and are a critical component. Mr. Ranger is glad to be here.
Sunday, 11:08 am: Henry Lydiate, also a speaker from Friday's panels and the keynote, is the next panelist. Mr. Lydiate is a lawyer from the UK, and you can find some of his work online at ArtQuest.
Mr. Lydiate explains there are a number of intellectual property rights that apply to artists and share the same rationale as ARR. Since this is the case, why is ARR even a question? It should be extant.
For example, with music, any use of a piece results in payment to the musician. Economic use of their work leads to a share in the economic benefit. Mr. Lydiate also provides examples from translation of a literary work and public performance of a film.
The cheapest way to acquire a work of art is to purchase it directly from the artist, and that should be our starting point, says Mr. Lydiate. The artist should not only be paid if there is an economic profit made off their work in the secondary marketplace.
When it comes to enforcement, it is very important to think about the legisaltion on a national basis, but also in a global context. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works requires signatories to have ARR. Although it is not mandatory, it soon will be, and Canada should get started.
Even if there are not a lot of artists who will benefit from ARR, implementation of the concept will lead to economic aid for all artists.
However, Mr. Lydiate says this is a long haul. Carfac should be concerned with the next 20 and 30 years: not only passing ARR legislation, but implementing it, maintaining a strong structure, and ensuring other countries pass similar legislation.
The only negative result, according to secondary market sellers in the UK, has been increased administrative costs. There is no proof for this statement.
Mr. Lydiate went to the National Gallery yesterday. He refers to the artworks Van Gogh was influenced by as he was art-dealing. A charcoal drawing of a farmhouse by Millet drew Mr. Lydiate over, because Millet is why we have droit de suite (ARR) at all. Millet lived in Paris and was so poor he never was able to support his family on his art. His wife died from working so hard to support their children, and finally Millet died a pauper. He was widely respected by his colleagues but never sold. After his death, a reporter discovered that many of his works were re-sold at an auction and achieved record prices. He then met Millet's children, who were orphans and begging not far from the auction house. So the reporter wrote a story about it all, and it led to public discussion as to how it was possible for others to profit off an artist.
The moral is that we must not forget droit-de-suite is about the family of the artist. In France, it lasts for 70 years after the death of the artist.
Another issue is that not only certain artists profit off ARR. It is obvious that some artists will gain the largest amounts, as their works sell for more. The important element is the thousands of artists who receive small amounts to supplement their incomes.
According to all the independent studies on the subject, there have been no negative effects and only positive – even for buyers and sellers.
Sunday, 11:29 am: Don Monet refers to the bottom lines costs for his gallery, and for Mr. Ranger's auction house. In the end, sales are about the love of art, and so ARR should not be the problem – instead, manage business better.
Sunday, 11:30 am: Q&A on the ARR panel.
Q: Artists asks what happens to resale right after death as an artist? and who must make a sale for ARR to apply?
A: It will apply until the copyright runs out – so 50 years after death. And it must be a secondary sale.
Q: Lise Letourneu asks for more on the private members' bill and how ARR legislation will finally be passed.
Q: An immigrant artist asks whether ARR will apply to art immigrant artists have created in their homelands and then bring to Canada?
A: In the UK, it applies so long as the other requirements of the law are fulfilled, particularly that the seller is in the UK. Also, if the work is by an EU citizen, it does not matter where the work was made, so long as it is by the citizen.
A: The recommendation in Canada will be that it apply to all Canadian citizens.
A: In the US, the proposed federal legislation will apply to anyone domiciled in the country.
Q: From representative for NDP MP – How is ARR a tax?
A: Mr. Ranger withdraws his use of "tax".
Q: Comment by artist on the potential for "leakage" if ARR legislation is brought in.
Q: Comment from Charles Smith to suggest inclusion of artists domiciled in Canada, not only citizens.
Q: Artist from Nunavut comments that ARR should exist in Canada.
Q: Gerald Beaulieu, artist and Carfac board member, comments that as copyright is intended to confer an economic advantage, there should be the use of ARR to confer an advantage in the commercial marketplace. As of now, visual artists only benefit from exhibition and use.
Q: Grant McConnell comments to say the goal should be for artists and sellers (such as Mr. Ranger and Mr. Monet) to work together. ARR is a value add, and everyone can get behind it.
Q: Artist comments that an Aboriginal artist she knows from Manitoba sells his work for a few hundred dollars and the purchasers then re-sell for thousands. How do we support artists like him, or others who need a better economic lifestyle?
Q: Artist and lawyer comments on the need for supporting artists.
Q: Artist and board member Barb Gamble comments to tell artists not to hand over their copyright to collectors – it should be retained by the artist. So she asks what the recourse would be for artists who have handed over the copyright to receive ARR.
A: Although an artist may give up all rights, ARR is inalienable and unassignable.
The panel is over, now for lunch!
One response to "Art + Law National Conference Live Blog"
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Awesome info and nicely written. Keep up the good stuff!


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Hancock outraised Romer 2-1 in final month of runoff election, financial reports show
Candidates for Denver mayor collected nearly $6 million in the most expensive mayoral race in Denver's history, according to financial reports submitted today.
And the six money-raising candidates loaned themselves more than $1 million, including Chris Romer's $682,000 loan and Carol Boigon's $220,000 loan.
The winner, Michael Hancock, didn't loan his campaign any money other than transferring $48,296 to his mayoral account from his city council campaign fund in late 2010.
In total, Hancock raised $1.7 million and spent $1.6 million.
In the final month of the runoff election that was decided on June 7, Hancock outraised his competitor Romer by a 2-to-1 margin — collecting $184,834 to Romer's $91,973.
Romer raised a total of $2.7 million, including $682,300 of his own money, and spent a total of $2.6 million.
Romer was trounced in the runoff election, garnering only 42 percent of the vote compared to Hancock's 58 percent. Hancock got 71,26 votes to Romer's 51,318.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. envoy to Afghanistan said Friday if U.S. and NATO troops are not allowed to stay to advise and train Afghan forces, the country risks more widespread violence and political disintegration.
James Dobbins also said U.S. willingness to wait to sign a new security pact with the next Afghan president offers hope that a deal can still be made, but the delay could mean fewer American troops and fewer dollars for the impoverished country.
American support of the war continues to wane with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement, which would provide a legal basis for some U.S. troops to stay in the country after the international combat mission ends this year. The agreement was to have been signed last fall.
"Unfortunately, President Karzai's decision not to sign the accord that he negotiated, that he, in fact, is not seeking to change, and that he agrees is important to Afghanistan has thrown this timetable badly off," Dobbins said in a speech at the United States Institute of Peace.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama told Karzai that he's open to waiting until later this year to conclude the bilateral security agreement with Karzai's successor but that "this delay would not be without cost." Despite widespread support in his country for signing the deal, Karzai has said he would prefer that his successor be the one to sign it.
"While we still continue to plan for a residual force to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces and to conduct limited counterterrorism missions, the scale of this commitment may well wane as uncertainty over our welcome persists, and we will also need to plan for the alternative of full withdrawal," Dobbins said.
Dobbins spent most of his speech citing scores of examples of progress that has been made in Afghanistan related to health, education, the upcoming presidential election, business and development and the building of institutions. But he said those advances remain fragile.
He also cited a recent study, ordered by Congress, which said international trainers and advisers will be needed in Afghanistan at least through 2018. The study was conducted by CNA Strategic Studies, a federally funded research group.
"In the absence of a continued train, advise and assist U.S. and NATO military mission, Afghanistan's descent into more widespread violence and political disintegration is likely to be more rapid," Dobbins said.
He acknowledged Americans' fatigue over U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, but he said most Americans favor a gradual, responsible withdrawal and a residual force to stay in the country after the end of this year.
"This margin of support is narrow and likely to diminish further as long as uncertainty about our welcome persists," Dobbins said.


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2017 Formula 353 FASTech35'
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- Silver Series three-color Imron® design #1, #2 or #3 in Antigua, Stealth or Bayport
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At this time of year, the life-sized bronze Gertrude Stein statue is somewhat buried behind The Holiday Shops in Bryant Park. She is one of ten made from a cast by friend and sculptor Jo Davidson in Paris, in 1922, and possibly the only one displayed outdoors year-round. Davidson had a long list of commissioned busts, including Charlie Chaplin, Hellen Keller, and Frank Sinatra. Many of them can be seen here. The photo below, taken by friend and surrealist photographer Man Ray, shows Davidson working in his Paris studio, with his subject Gertrude Stein looking on.
|Photo: Man Ray, 1922, Getty Museum
Stein was connected to the ex-pat art and literary scene of the times, coining the term "lost generation," later used by Hemingway to refer to that generation of authors: "You are all a lost generation," epigraph, The Sun Also Rises. Though most well-known for her writing and personal relationships, Stein, along with several members of her family, amassed an impressive art collection, on display at the Grand Palais now until mid-January.Time to use up those miles!
The Bryant Park statue was donated by Dr. Maury Leibovitz, psychologist and art dealer, and unveiled in a small ceremony on November 5, 1992. In addition to the sculpture, Mr. Leibovitz owned an estate formerly belonging to Jo Davidson. Davidson has another Bryant Park connection -- for a time, he worked out of a studio at the Bryant Park Studios, on the corner of 40th Street and Sixth Avenue. So it's fitting that she found a home in the park.
|Photo: BPC, Marco Castro
As for the other nine statues, I tracked down a few of them: one at The Met (they also have a beautiful Picasso portrait of her), supposedly one each at The Whitney and The Carnegie Museum of Art, and possibly one at The Smithsonian (it was on view last Spring, but could have been on loan).
Other Sources:
**The Parks Department has a monuments catalog available online. You can read about most every statue you've ever seen in the park system until your eyes bleed.
**Now you can settle all of those arguments about when the Post Modern ends and Contemporary begins with this handy chart.


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Kentucky Corpse Reviver Recipe
Perhaps you've had a Corpse Reviver #2, which brings together gin and curaçao, Lillet blanc, and lemon, with a dash of absinthe. Here's a variation from Peels restaurant in NYC that uses bourbon instead of gin, and it's delicious. Pierre Ferrand's dry curaçao is great here, but you could substitute Cointreau if you have it on hand.
- Yield:makes 1 cocktail
- Active time: 5 minutes
- Total time:5 minutes
- 3/4 ounce Elijah Craig Bourbon
- 3/4 ounce Pierre Ferrand Curaçao
- 3/4 ounce fresh juice from 1 lemon
- 3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc
- Garnish: mint sprig
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add bourbon, curacao, lemon juice, and Lillet Blanc. Shake until well chilled, about 15 seconds.
Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with mint sprig.


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Creating a Foundation that Lasts
In the wake of the hurricanes that hit the United States and the Caribbean recently, Ruth, the entire Forever organization and I want to extend our deepest condolence to all those who have lost their homes, their loved ones or have been affected in any way. It's during these times that we realize how resilient we can be as a community and how powerful it is to work together. But, another story resonated with me through all of this. The preparation that many city and state officials were making in advance helped prove that long-term fortitude is so much more effective than short-term effort.
Planning is essential. Otherwise, actions and decisions are only quick judgements that can be disastrous. While watching the news, I'd listen to these officials share how their planning consisted of not only weeks, but years of developing strategies for their communities in preparation for times like these. Each year they reinforce their plans to ensure they're prepared, even if the storms are not significant. This long-term planning is what makes communities and people incredibly strong; strong enough to withstand the immediate effects of any hurricane. More importantly, it gives them strength to rebuild afterwards, despite the damage they couldn't prevent.
Part of the planning includes developing buildings and structures with hurricanes in mind. They are built to stand up against wind and storm surges, so that they can safeguard what is important.
When you have something valuable that you're trying to protect, what effort are you willing to put into it? How far are you willing to plan to ensure its safety? As a Forever Business Owner, it is important to protect your business and all the effort you have put into it. The key is to create a deep foundation and structure, so you can withstand changes in the economy or any other challenges you may face during your journey.
Time and time again we've proven that a business that is deep-rooted, fortified and built on solid foundations will last. What you have to do is develop your infrastructure and build to rise up against any external pressures. You have to reinforce your business with a team that has these same values. It's not just about having the bravery to stand up in the midst of the storm, but having the courage and foresight to plan for what hasn't even happened.
Thank you to everyone who helped Forever Giving during the hurricane relief efforts. Because of your generosity, Forever Giving donated to Rise Against Hunger and sent tens of thousands of meals to the areas affected. Forever will continue to help in any way we can during current relief efforts, and your contributions will help us greatly in making an impact now and in the future.
Forever Yours,
Rex Maughan
CEO, Forever Living Products


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The First Lady
At Cinco de Mayo Event, Prayers from First Lady for Swine Flu Sufferers
By DeNeen L. Brown
First lady Michelle Obama told students at a school in Northwest Washington, D.C., to send "thoughts and prayers" to people who were suffering from the swine flu.
"At a time that we're celebrating Mexican culture and heritage, it's so important for us to think about some of the challenges that the folks in Mexico are facing right now," Obama told a group of students at the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School. "And we want to make sure that we're sending our thoughts and our prayers out to people as they're getting well, and the rest of the people around the country as they're getting well, from folks who have gotten the flu and all that kind of stuff, right? So we want to send good thoughts to everyone, okay?"
The remarks came during a day-early celebration of Cinco de Mayo. "Feliz Cuatro de Mayo," Obama teasingly told the students. "Why? Because what's tomorrow, really? ... Tomorrow is really actually Cinco de Mayo."
The First Lady clapped as students performed dances from Latin America and sang songs in Spanish. After the performances, Obama spoke about her goals as first lady: promoting education, public service and opening up the White House to people in the community. She encouraged students to get involved in public service. And she told them about a program she had started to invite teenagers from D.C. public schools to work as interns at the White House.
"But in order to be a part of this program, you have to have your stuff together, right? You all know that, right?" Obama said. "And by having your stuff together, it means that you have to do what? What are some of the things that you need to be doing now in order to get really good internships? What do you guys think you need to be doing?"
"Working!" one student shouted.
"Studying," another said. "Reading!... Listening!"
She told the students that it was important to for them to challenge themselves and not to be afraid to fail.
"I tell my kids, I want you to be comfortable with failing, because if you learn how to fail, then you're not afraid to do what? To try, right?"
Then she opened the floor to questions.
"But I have to say, make them very easy questions," she said. "because it's very nerve-wracking being up here, and there are cameras back there and everything. Please ask me something I can answer."
"What's your grandma's name," a little girl asked.
"What's my grandma's name, or what's Malia and -- what's my mom's name, or what's Malia and Sasha's name?" Obama said. "Her name is Marian Robinson, but we call her 'grandma.'"
The crowd laughed.
"Thank you for that question. See? I knew that. I knew that one."
The final question came from a little girl with red hair.
"I'm eight years old," the girl said, "and I wanted to know what has surprised you mostly about the White House."
"Oh, see, this is a question; serious. What has surprised me most? I think -- you know, I didn't -- I didn't know that I would have this much fun doing what I'm doing. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how hard it would be. I didn't know how much work it would be. I didn't know completely what to expect. But what I found is that this is a really good job."
She told them the role of first lady has allowed her to shine the spotlight on her passion: public service.
"And being the first lady is like the icing on the cake of helping other people," she said. "In this role, I have a big platform. I can come by your school, and people will follow, and they get to see what's going on here, and they get to see your faces, and we get to remind them why education is important, and why investing in you guys is so good, and the whole world will see you dancing and singing just because I came by to say hi.
"Or I can plant a garden, something as small as planting a garden, and the whole world will pay attention, and then we can talk about the importance of not just gardening but of eating good food, right, of making sure you guys eat fruits and vegetables and that they taste good.
"I can get my kids a dog and we can talk about the importance of young people taking responsibility for their pets, because if you ask for a pet, you got to take care of it, right? So there's a lot I can do to help the public, and it's been fun and surprisingly fun for me."
Posted at 3:57 PM ET on May 4, 2009
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The kids might have been as puzzled by Cinco de Mayo as Cuatro de Mayo.
Although Mrs. Obama's native Chicago has a large Mexican American community, the families of many LAMB students probably hail from Cental America and the Caribbean.
Of course, May 5th is now an established US holiday -- for adults. See:
Posted by: MikeLicht | May 5, 2009 1:39 PM
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After ten years of nearly continuous travel, I've come to regard tipping as an institutionalized annoyance rather than a custom in the usual sense. Like most travelers I know, though, I con-tinue to tip and continue to grumble about it. The grumbling lets off steam about constantly having to give small bribes for bad service. Let me voice a few of my more recent grumbles now, and get them out of tile way.
In Berlin, I had to ransom a single suitcase (that I was perfectly able to carry myself) four times between air-port and hotel—once from a porter, once from a busman who placed it in a
By Arthur Whitman rack and took it off, once from a door-
man and once from a bellhop. In restaurants I always hate having to lent coathooks—not even hangers!—by the minute. And, for heaven's sake, was I really supposed to tip the high priced hotel barber in New Orleans who ignored all my instructions and sheared me like a sheep in seven min-utes Hat? I hope not, because 1 didn't. —Okay, I feel better. Let's get on with our business.
Surveys on tipping prove just about
everything, Some that service employ-ees love the system, others that they hate it. Service employers say they don't like it, but that it's necessary be-cause they can't otherwise afford to pay all the help they need. Customers almost always think it should be done away with, and Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wash-ington have all tried to do just that by making tips illegal at one time or an-other. Nothing came of the attempts,
Arthur Whitman, a freelance writer of books and magazine articles-, estimates that he has traveled 750,000 miles in the past 10 years on his research and writing trips, leaving a trail of tips behind him. His articles have appeared in dozens of American magazines, and he writes regularly for 25 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Whitman wrote 4 this article especially for H&S Reports.