Arts Wire CURRENT is a project of Arts Wire, a national computer-based network serving the arts community. Arts Wire CURRENT features news updates on social, economic, philosophical, and political issues affecting the arts and culture. Your contributions are invited. Contact Judy Malloy, editor, at jmalloy@artswire.org
To encourage the exchange of arts information and perspectives, Arts Wire CURRENT contents are not copyrighted unless specifically stated. We ask that you cite Arts Wire CURRENT as well as Arts Wire's url (http://www.artswire.org) when reprinting material. In addition, Arts Wire is very interested in documenting the use of material from Arts Wire CURRENT in other newsletters, publications and on online networks. Please send a copy to: Joe Matuzak, Arts Wire Director.
This week's Current is sponsored by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and State Arts Council of Oklahoma
The case, Tasini et al. v. The New York Times et al., involved the commercial redistribution in CD ROMs and electronic databases of previously published articles without the permission of the writers and without compensating them beyond what they were originally paid. The court ruled that, in some electronic media, reproducing articles by free-lance writers is essentially equivalent to archiving versions of print media on microfilm, which publishers are allowed to do under the Copyright Act of 1976.
"The court does not take lightly that its holding deprives plaintiffs of certain important economic benefits associated with their creations," the New York Times quotes Judge Sotomayor as writing.
Sotomayor stated, according to the Times that "The plaintiffs' real complaint lies in the fact that modern technology has created a situation in which revision rights are much more valuable than intended at the time that the specific terms of the Copyright Act were being negotiated." She added that Congress "is of course free to revise that provision to achieve a more equitable result."
NWU president, Jonathan Tasini, the lead plaintiff in the case, is quoted by the NWU as saying that an analysis of the decision shows that the plaintiffs did prevail on several of their most important assertions. "We are pleased that Judge Sotomayor rejected the publishers' disingenuous claims that the writers had explicitly transferred our rights to our work," he said. "We did no such thing, and we continue to advise freelancers to hold on to their rights unless they are paid a fair amount to license them."
"The judge seems to throw the ball to Congress, which she says is free to revise Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act, around which much of the lawsuit revolved," Tasini stated according to NWU. "The community of freelance writers, photographers and graphic artists can now rise to that challenge and make their legislators pay attention to their rights as well as to the public's interest in new media technologies."
The World Wide Web, which was not addressed in the suit, has become a major electronic publishing venue since the suit was filed in 1993. "The judge ruled that CD-ROMs and some kinds of data bases are the functional equivalent of microfilm," Bruce Keller, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, the law firm representing the defendants, is quoted as saying by the Times. "But it is not a sweeping decision that determines copyright in all forms of electronic media."
"The fight for a fair share continues," Tasini said, according to NWU. "When multimillion-dollar media companies make a dollar from the sweat of their contributors' brows, those creators deserve to share in the profits. That is what copyright is all about -- preserving independent, vital and diverse voices in American journalism and American culture."
The NWU reports that Tasini called on President Clinton to establish a blue-ribbon presidential commission to study the disappearing livelihood of writers and all creators throughout the country. Tasini said: "In his State of the Union address this year, the president praised writers as an integral part of our society. He must now act decisively to insure that we survive to fulfill our societal mission."
Sources:
NATIONAL WRITERS UNION
(http://www.nwu.org/nwu/)
The National Writers Union, Local 1981 of United Auto Workers, represents
4,600 freelance journalists, book authors, technical writers and others.
Visit the site for updates and a copy of the decision
Steve Lohr
"Free-Lancers Lose Test Case on Electronic Publishing"
THE NEW YORK TIMES ONLINE
(http://www.nytimes.com)
August 14, 1997
NINCH-ANNOUNCE
August 14, 1997
NINCH-ANNOUNCE is a public list for announcements and news from The NATIONAL
INITIATIVE FOR A NETWORKED CULTURAL HERITAGE
(http://www-ninch.cni.org)
"Regional audiences are supposed to be a major priority for political parties, with promises of support and commitment at every election" says Julie Foster-Burley, Executive Officer, Regional Galleries Association of Queensland in a press release from the Association. "However most regional galleries still receive the bulk of their funding from local government sources, with little direct state or federal resources being directed to the area."
Foster-Burley pointed out that Australia's regional galleries have an ongoing commitment to operate closely with their communities and that they are instrumental in developing and educating diverse audiences, outside of capital cities, about the visual arts. "Every year over one and half million people visit regional galleries throughout Australia, she said. "This number is steadily increasing as more regional galleries open their doors around the country.....The benefits of their commitment and involvement can be seen in every area of the country's arts industry."
The Summit aims to give these regional galleries a national voice and to increase recognition of their important role in the visual arts and culture of Australia. Audience development strategies, community relationships, cultural tourism directions, new technologies, possible networking and partnership opportunities will be discussed.
The Summit is being organized by the Regional Galleries Association of Queensland in association with Cairns Regional Gallery. Other supporters include: The Arts Office; (Queensland Government) Australia Foundation for Culture and the Humanities; Cairns City Council; Canon; Museums Australia with assistance from the Department of Communication and the Arts; Regional Galleries Association of New South Wales; and South Australian Country Arts Trust.
For further information about the regional galleries, visit the comprehensive Cairns Regional Gallery web site at http://www.qantm.com.au/crg/
AMC Music-News reports that the Goals and Objectives are aligned with the National Standards for Arts Education and will provide teachers with a framework to use in planning instruction for students. Additionally, all of the grades K-6 arts objectives will be required subjects in the curriculum.
"Committees of parents, teachers, school administrators, representatives from the state legislature, higher education, unions and the business community have worked diligently since the Fall of 1994 on this effort," says AMC-News.
Source:
AMC Music-News 8/4/97
a publication of THE AMERICAN MUSIC CONFERENCE
(http://www.amc-music.com)
a national non-profit educational association dedicated to promoting music,
music making and music education.
CRANBROOK (http://www.cranbrook.edu/) is located about 25 miles northwest of Detroit. The non-profit educational community includes a public art museum and public science museum as well as private schools for children age three through high school and a graduate school for art. The site contains information about the schools plus information about the collections and the changing exhibitions at the Museums. "Contemporary art is the expression of our times. The work created by todays artists reflects our world -- beautiful and uplifting, disturbing and unsettling," the Cranbrook Art Museum's web page says.
Located in the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica, California, SIDE STREET PROJECTS ( http://www.artemedia.com/organizations/sidestreet/) is an artist run organization dedicated to supporting artists in the exhibition and fabrication of their work. Their support services include a full woodworking facility, darkroom, rehearsal space, gallery and an outreach program called "Alternate Routes: education on wheels" that is a mobile woodworking program for children.
Side Street Projects shows the work of regional and international artists, both established and emerging and specializes in installations and projects. Visit the site to find out more!
PENNSYLVANIA PRESENTERS (http://silo.com/PAPresenters) is a state-wide service organization for presenters across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the Mid-Atlantic region. "Pennsylvania presenters are known as creative, cooperative risk-takers. It's no wonder we continue to seek ways to explore new opportunities and present exciting works together as a team," they write on the web site.
COMMUNITY ARTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT SPRINGFIELD ( http://www.uis.edu/~cam/mainpage.html) The Community Arts Management program offers a one or two year course of instruction leading to the master of arts degree. The curriculum includes leadership development in arts administration through general management and planning skills, as well as knowledge and skills specifically pertinent to the arts. The following quote from Arlene Goldbard graces the web site: "...community arts practice is based on the belief that cultural meaning, expression and creativity reside within a community, that the community artist's task is to assist people in freeing their imaginations and giving form to their creativity."
The web site of the MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH (http://www.mamfw.org) enables viewers to explore the museum's extensive collection of modern and contemporary American and European art. Visitors can preview special exhibitions; learn the history of the museum; (the oldest art museum in Texas) see Tadao Ando's design for the Modern's new building; and access the education department to learn about art classes, workshops, lectures and tours.
VICTORYGIRL (http://www.victorygirl.com) is a visual journey through the work of independent choreographer Laurie McLeod, including the story of a recent tour to the Arctic and information about TWELVE INCANTATIONS at The Richmond Furnace -- "An award winning dance theater work. A nineteenth century industrial monument. Come see what emerges when the two collide."
FAR FROM HOME: NEW DEFINITIONS OF DOMESTIC LIVING is an exhibition that explores how economic, cultural and social changes have impacted our domestic lives and reshaped the spaces in which we live. Concerns about security and homelessness, responses to an increasingly nomadic culture, and re-evaluations of the American Dream home are addressed in the work of eleven Michigan-based artists who include Carla Anderson, Joe Crachiola, Judy Eliyas, Amy Kelly, Peter Lynch, Lisa Olson, Catherine Smith and collaborators. Julie Ju-Youn Kim, and Paul Kevin Matelic.
WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA
Sept. 11 - Nov. 2
Bedford Gallery, Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic
Drive
THE SHOE SHOW will present witty, surreal, fantastic images and objects created by contemporary artists who have been inspired or obsessed by shoes. For many of the artists, shoes are the vehicle for expressive revelations about how concepts of self are constructed.
Among the works to be included are six silkscreen prints from Andy Warhol's Diamond Dust series; Christo's "Jeanne-Claude's Wrapped Shoes"; Yoko Ono's "Exhibit M: High Heeled Shoes" from her Family Album series; a large shoe-shaped construction of collaged paintings by New York artist Elizabeth Murray; shoes covered in fresh flowers by Copenhagen artist Stine Heilmann; Marilyn Levine's hyper-realistic ceramic sculptures of baby boots and work boots; and "Shoes for the Natural Little Woman" built by California artist Gaza Bowen out of a push broom and clothespins.
The Shoe Show is made possible by a generous grant from Nordstrom in Walnut Creek's Broadway Plaza. For more information, call 510-295-1417
HUNTINGTON, NY
Sept. 20 9-11 PM
The Huntington YMCA
The Huntington Y WRITE POETRY FESTIVAL will take place Saturday, September 20 in Huntington, New York. The festival will feature seminars by Sharon Olds, David Lehman, and James Tate, and an evening poetry reading by Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.
Also performing will be Quincy Troupe with a poetry/jazz repertoire. For more information, call the Huntington YMCA at 516-421-4242
With a $2 million gift from Ameritech, the Library of Congress is sponsoring a competition to enable public, research and academic libraries, museums, historical societies and archival institutions (except federal institutions) to create digital collections of primary resources. These digital collections will complement and enhance the collections made available on the Internet by the National Digital Library Program at the Library of Congress.
1996 award winners include Brown University: African-American Sheet Music Digitizing Project; New York Public Library: Small Town America: Stereoscopic Views from the Dennis Collection, 1850-1910; University of Chicago: American Environmental Photographs, 1897-1931; and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: First-Person Narratives of the American South,1860-1920. Detailed project descriptions are available at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/award/award97.html
GUIDELINES FOR 1997-98 are now available on the competition's Web site at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem- /award/ The Guidelines may be used by any nonfederal, tax-exempt, nonprofit (501(c)3) cultural repository in the United States holding primary sources suitable for digitizing and making available on the Internet. For this competition cycle, applications will be limited to collections of textual and graphic materials that illuminate United States history and culture for the period from 1763-1920.
APPLICATION WORKSHOPS: Chicago: Aug. 29; Washington DC: Sept. 8. Details are available on the website.
DEADLINE: November 3, 1997. Contact: Guy Lamolinara, Library of Congress 202-707-9217 or Crystal Ashton, Ameritech Library Services 801-223-5330
Details available on Arts Wire (AWNEWS 92:14)
PROMETEO ENCADENADO
12 Sept.- 17 Oct.
ARSenal, Bilbao, Spain
ARSenal (arsenal@las.es) in Bilbao Spain invites mail art contributions on art, economy, management, future to PROMETEO ENCADENADO (Prometeo chained) a show about the "Guggenheim Bilbao Museum".
"The Basque Government has 'rented' to the Guggenheim of New York a project of museum, of manner similar to an "exemption" (chain of stores) of MacDonald's," ARSenal explains. "The project sponsored and under the auspices of a conservative nationalistic party (PNV) has been developed without public information. In the dark. In silence. Exist great public opposition of the artists and the people, even parliamentary."
DEADLINE: August 30. Materials (objects, letters, photocopies, drawings, texts, postal, photographs, communiques, advertising, packages, documentation, or any thing or object that is received) of reduced size, not superior DIN A4 (no limit on number of objects, sheet...) can be sent to ARSenal, Mazarredo 35, 3:. BILBAO, Spain. An edited a photocopied catalogue will be produced.
Information about and forms to purchase a "Texas--State of the Arts" license plate are available at http://www.arts.state.tx.us/
"Your purchase of a 'Texas--State of the Arts' license plate will help nurture all the arts and give your car a little class at the same time," the Texas Commission on the Arts explains. Call them at 1-800-252-9415 for more information.
Oct 6: NEW YORK FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS - invites applications from New York State residents for its $7,000 fellowships in Architecture/Environmental Structures, Choreography, Fiction, Music Composition, Painting, Photography, Playwriting/Screenwriting and Video. For information and an application, contact: NYFA, 155 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10013-1507. (212) 366-6900, ext. 217. E-mail: nyfaafp@artswire.org
Oct 10: BANG ON A CAN - seeks tapes of innovative and adventurous music for small ensembles, solo performers, composer-performers, large ensembles or orchestra for consideration for performance in the Bang on a Can Marathon, World Orchestra Day, or spring concerts of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, SPIT Orchestra and other events. Send tapes to: Bang on a Can, 222 E. 5th St. #12, New York, NY 10003. (212) 777-8442.
Oct 20: KANSAS ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS - offers $5,000 to up to five artists who have lived in Kansas since July 1, 1996. Fiction, poetry, 2D and 3D visual art, and crafts are eligible disciplines. In addition, up to 12 Mini-Fellowships of $500 each will be offered in the aforementioned disciplines plus music composition, choreography, film/video, interdisciplinary/performance art and playwriting. For information, contact: Kansas Arts Commission, Jayhawk Tower, 700 SW Jackson, Suite 1004, Topeka, KS 66603-3758. (913) 296-3335. TTY: (800) 766-3777. Fax: (913) 296-4989.
Oct 31: COOPER GALLERY - seeks emerging artists for solo and three-person group shows. Works of painting, sculpture, drawing, mixed media and photography completed in the last 3 years are eligible. For prospectus and guidelines, contact: Director of Exhibitions, Cooper Gallery, 295 Grove St., Jersey City, NJ 07302. (201) 451-1074.
Dec 16: PLAYWRIGHTS' CENTER'S 1997 PlayLabs - offers at least four U.S. citizens or permanent residents 30-40 hours of intensive workshop time for script refinement, a public reading, honoraria, travel expenses, room and board. Playwrights submit one unpublished and unproduced play, and/or one video or audio tape if work is non-textual, developmental history of script, one-page description of your aims and concerns for the script, and SASE for material return. For an application, contact: PlayLabs, Playwrights' Center, 2301 Franklin Ave. East, Minneapolis, MN 55406-1099. (612) 332-7481. Fax: (612) 332-6037.
Ideal candidates for the program have demonstrated leadership skills, proven organizational and communication skills, maturity, confidence, and the ability to work independently as well as with diverse groups. Many applicants have experience working or volunteering with the management of an arts organization. Graduates of the program currently hold chief executive officer and senior staff positions at orchestras around the country.
The program year commences August, 1998; the application deadline is November 7, 1997. For further information or an application, please write: Orchestra Management Fellowship Program, American Symphony Orchestra League, 1156 15th Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005. Or call 202-776-0212 Equal Opportunity Employer
DIRECTOR
Miami University Art Museum
(Oxford, OH)
The Miami University Art Museum has an active annual exhibition and educational programming schedule to meet the needs of the University and general audiences. The Art Museum collections consists of more than 16,000 objects, ranging from ancient to contemporary: European, American, Asian, African, Oceanic, and folk art; and fine and decorative arts to 19th century historic house furnishings. The Museum includes five galleries for permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, an auditorium, storage, and work space. Miami University Art Museum administers and staffs McGuffey Museum, a National Historic Landmark building on the University campus. This house museum acknowledges the contributions to American culture of the McGuffey Eclectic Readers by William Holmes McGuffey, who lived in the house from 1833-1836. The Art Museum has a staff of seven full-time personnel.
The Director serves as chief administrator of the Miami University Art Museum and the McGuffey Museum and has responsibility for planning and implementing all Museum policies; appointing staff and all Museum personnel; budget development and administration, and grant-writing; public relations and audience development; and acting as a consultant to the University's Development Office for external funding and art procurement. The Director is chair of the Art Museum Accessions Committee and reports directly to the President of the University.
QUALIFICATIONS INCLUDE: must be highly motivated, possess excellent communication skills, impeccable integrity, and be capable of providing strong leadership, vision, and strategic direction. The candidate should have an advanced degree or equivalent experience in management, art, or art history and a minimum of five years experience as a manager with fiscal responsibility and demonstrated success in team-building, audience development, fund raising, and collaboration with other cultural organizations. Experience in a university or other museum with a permanent collection, teaching experience in art history, and/or record of scholarly or creative accomplishments are also desirable.
DEADLINE: September 30, 1997. The anticipated date of appointment is January 1, 1998, Applications should include a letter of application and a resume. Applicants are asked to provide a preferred mailing address, e-mail address, and fax number(s) if available. Please also provide 3 to 5 references. Address all nominations and applications to: Dr. William G. Slover, Secretary of the University, APN Search, Miami University, 101 Roudebush Hall, Oxford, Ohio 45056 tel: 513-529-3610 fax: 513-529-1737 website: http://www.muohio.edu Miami University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.
HR 2180, a new bill introduced in the House of Representatives on July 17, 1997, would essentially exempt internet service providers and web hosts from liability for damages on account of copyright infringement by their customers, according to an email report from Patrick Begos. Begos, an attorney whose specialties include art law, explains that under present law, an ISP can be liable for copyright infringement if one of its customers posts, for example, an unauthorized copy of a work of visual art on a web page that resides on the ISP's computers. Under the proposal, if the ISP did not "initially place the material on-line," doesn't control the content, doesn't know the material is infringing, and satisfies several other hurdles, then it will not be liable for the infringement.
The bill states that the copyright holder will still be able to get an injunction against an ISP that refuses to block an infringing web page as long as the "acts required by such relief are technically feasible and economically reasonable to carry out."
The bill also absolves the ISP of liability to its customer if it block's access to the web page after receiving notice that the web page infringes a copyright, according to Begos. Additionally, to protect against unfounded claims of infringement, the new bill would require a copyright "holder" to pay damages, including attorneys' fees to an ISP, if the holder "knowingly materially misrepresents that material on-line is infringing."
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Source:
Patrick W. Begos, (begos@molton.com) an
attorney with the NY firm Molton &
Meekins, is a member of the Committee on Art Law of the Association of the
Bar of the City of the City of New York. The firm's site at
http://www.molton.com contains sections
on Art Law and Cultural Property.
WRITERS WRITE(TM) LAUNCHES THE INTERNET WRITING JOURNAL(TM)
DALLAS, TX -- Writers Write(TM) has announced the launch of its new online magazine, THE INTERNET WRITING JOURNAL(TM) at http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/ The Journal features "how to" articles on writing and getting published; interviews with authors, editors, publishers and agents; product reviews' as well as editorials and columns on current topics in the writing and publishing worlds.
The premier issue of The Journal features an interview with Gary Gach, author of THE POCKET GUIDE TO THE INTERNET. In the interview, Gach reveals the eight things journalists must do not to get left behind in the electronic revolution, gives advice for aspiring writers, and discusses the Internet and its effect on our society.
This month's issue also includes an interview with freelance editor and Excite Acting Community Manager, Nancy Hanger. Hanger discusses how the electronic revol computers, monitors, words, music and images.
Visit the site to contribute thematic ideas, scripts, images, poetry, and sound and/or to experience to a variety of audio, visual and textual components revolving around Bryant Park's architecture, design, use and history.
Details available on Arts Wire (SPIDERSCHOOL Item 23:16)
MYRON TURNER, Coordinator of the Manitoba Visual Arts Network and a Resident Artist in the Media and Visual Arts department of The Banff Centre for the Arts, is seeking contributions from artists age fifty and up, for a web-site in progress entitled SEA CHANGES --- a project of the Deep Web Program at The Banff Centre for the Arts.
Collaborating artists will contribute autobiographical materials (consisting mostly of texts and images) to a common database. When enough material has been collected in the database, each artist will begin to construct an autobiography or "metabiography" from these materials, using anything in the database, excluding the artist's own contributions.
"The point of Sea Changes," Turner writes "is to find our own lives in the lives of others, regardless of gender or individual boundaries. The artists will be free to develop their own approaches to creating their biographies, inventing, adding, and subtracting images, texts and documents, wherever they see fit." Visit http://www.umanitoba.ca/mbvan/hpgs/deepw/ for more information on Sea Changes or email Myron Turner at mturner@cc.UManitoba.CA
Details available on Arts Wire (INTERACTIVE Item 88)
ARTS ON THE LINE IS NEW ARTS ADVOCACY SOURCE
Arts Activist Richard Finkelstein (finkelst@spot.Colorado.EDU) has compiled an extensive new resource for Arts Advocacy. ARTS ON THE LINE (AOTL) at http://spot.colorado.edu/~finkelst/aotl.htm contains files on arts voting records from all 50 states along with full contact information. The site also provides a home for Finkelstein's often requested resources for the arts community such as "Putting our Arts Spending in Perspective" and "On Becoming a Citizen of the Arts".
A section on the site -- "Fighting Back, Answering the Arts Critics" at http://spot.colorado.edu/~finkelst/fighting.htm -- is intended to "arm folks in advance with talking points on the myriad of criticisms," Finkelstein writes by email. The site, he explains "is designed in particular to arm citizens who wish to attend town meetings with legislators. Legislators..... It's hoped that this listing will provide a variety of sound bytes to fight back with."
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