www.illegal-art.org

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

NY Times, Jan. 7 2002
An Exhibition That Borrows Brazenly
By CHRIS NELSON

It sounds like a plan for drawing hordes of screaming lawyers to your door:
create compilation CD's with sampled music from the likes of the Beatles,
James Brown and Johnny Cash, not to mention the voice of Dan Rather;
include as many songs as possible that have already sparked legal battles;
do it all without getting permission from the copyright owners; and
distribute the CD's at a nationally touring art exhibition.

Oh yeah, and give the music away online for the millions of people around
the globe who can't make it to the show.

So far this operation has not sparked even a lawyer's angry voice mail,
said Carrie McLaren, curator of the exhibition, "Illegal Art: Freedom of
Expression in the Corporate Age," where the potentially inflammatory CD is
available free, and of its Web site, illegal-art.org.

"They know it'd be like a minefield," said Ms. McLaren, who contends that
the music, visual art and video pieces in the installation are protected by
the "fair use" provision in copyright law that allows for parody and
commentary. The exhibition, she says, takes the potentially illegal and
makes it untouchable.

Maybe she should talk with Paul McCartney.

Sir Paul's spokesman, Paul Freundlich, is examining the apparently
unauthorized use of the Beatles' song "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the
"Illegal Art" track "Psycho of Greed" by the rap group Public Enemy.

Both Public Enemy and Ms. McLaren are violating the law by distributing
copyrighted work without permission, Mr. Freundlich said. "The people that
are actually doing this

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/arts/design/07SAMP.html


Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org


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