Cory Doctorow wrote an article for The Guardian describing an experience he had at an exhibition of pop art at London’s National Portrait Gallery. They are displaying art made from using other peoples copyright and yet prevent anyone coming to view the gallery from taking photographs because it infringes on the artworks… copyright…

It’s a fascinating read and a compelling argument on how we really can’t turn back from this hole we’ve dug.

Warhol is turning in his grave

An exhibition of pop art at London’s National Portrait Gallery unwittingly celebrates a golden age before copyright was king

The excellent programme for Pop Art Portraits, the current exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery, has a lot to say about the pictures hanging on the walls and the diverse source material the artists used to produce their provocative works.

Apparently they cut up magazines, copied comic books, drew trademarked cartoon characters like Minnie Mouse, reproduced covers from Time magazine, made ironic use of a cartoon Charles Atlas, painted over iconic photos of James Dean and Elvis Presley - and that’s just in the first of seven rooms.

The programme describes the aesthetic experience conjured up by these transmogrified icons of high and low culture. Celebrated pop artists including Larry Poons, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol created these images by nicking the work of others, without permission, and transforming it to make statements and evoke emotions never countenanced by the original creators.

Despite this, the programme does not say a word about copyright. Can you blame the authors? A treatise on the way that copyright and trademarks were - had to be - trammelled to make these works could fill volumes.

Read the whole article here 

Tags: scary //