Weather Looks Good for The Business of Art
Last week I mentioned an art law event at USC, The Business of Art: A Forecast for 2011. Jacqueline Lechtholz-Zey, sent us an overview of the event. Jackie is currently a third year law student at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and is passionate about fashion and art law. She interns at Sheppard Mullin where she has the opportunity to pursue these interests.
Her overview:
“Sunny.” That was art lawyer Christine Steiner’s response to the million dollar question at Tuesday night’s panel: “what is your forecast for the business of art in 2011?”
On March 8, the USC Art Law Society and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP brought together a diverse panel of speakers who are at the front line of business and legal developments in the art world. We gathered for a courtyard reception outside of USC’s beautiful Fisher Gallery and then reconvened inside, seated and surrounded by Sylvia Shap’s lively portraits while our panelists shared their insights.
Pam Kohanchi, assistant general counsel at LACMA, represented the institutional perspective. Christine Steiner has an extensive art law practice with a wide variety of creative clients and practice areas. Addison Liu, the co-founder of HVW8 Art + Design Gallery, was Senior Counsel of Music Affairs at MGM Studios and today uses that background to further the spirit of collaboration between art, music, and design at his gallery. Last but not least, Jessica Kantor, an associate in the Art Law Practice Group at Sheppard Mullin, moderated the panel, asking thoughtful and engaging questions of our speakers.
So what is a day in the life like for these lawyers in the arts?
Christine emphasized that in her diverse practice, it’s all about volume and velocity. She tackles legal issues in the life cycle of an art collection, in three key areas: (1) acquisition; (2) ownership; and (3) disposition. She deals with proper title, including provenance and forgeries, copyright and VARA issues, lending to museums, and sales and consignments. Taxes play an important role from start to finish in her practice.
For Addison, the day to day is much like it would be for a small gallery. HVW8 prides itself on working with artists from all different kinds of backgrounds and converging those experiences. The gallery plans events, curates upcoming shows, and focuses on nourishing the intersection of art, music, and design. While a gallery is about the art, there is also the need to survive financially, and Addison looks for creative ways to explore commercial avenues without compromising artistic value. He also notes an increased awareness of copyright issues with designs. Since Shepard Fairey, even more so than ever, clients and artists are concerned about the source of photographs used as a basis for other works.
Pam described herself as a “general practice doctor” at LACMA’s legal division. She handles every sort of question that might arise in that context, providing feedback to the many members of LACMA’s creative and business teams. Pam focuses on licensing, provenance, insurance indemnity issues, among many other matters. She said that not a day goes by without her reviewing a license or exhibition agreement.
What’s the role of digitization in the arts, and what are some digital dilemmas?
Pam took the lead and explained how LACMA has become a real leader in the institutional sector when it comes to digital innovation. The museum runs a blog, a Facebook page, and a Twitter page with over 145,000 followers. They also have a Twitter in Spanish. But one of the most exciting endeavors is the Apple iPhone app, which allows users to plan tours, discover exhibitions, purchase tickets, and provides many more interactive features. LACMA also has one of the most liberal IP policies among museums, and one recent strategic initiative involves providing high-resolution images of works to the public, free of charge.
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