The resale of fakes is a persistent and growing problem without a good solution, say collectors, dealers, artist estates and law enforcement agencies.

Via The NY Times.

Slate magazine reports that the University of Wyoming removed a public sculpture, Carbon Sink, due to its content.

In April, university president Tom Buchanan wrote to the director of the art museum: “Given the controversy that it has generated, it would be best for UW if the fire pit (I’ve forgotten the name of the work) could be considered part of the [removal of other campus artworks] during the summer of 2012.” It was, and today, no trace of it remains.

This isn’t good, making us wonder whether the University of Wyoming violated the artist’s moral rights under the federal Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (“VARA”). This is possible, and also possible that the artist may have signed an agreement where he waived his VARA rights.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, we also wonder if there isn’t a First Amendment free speech violation as well. Slate also reports that “since the installation of Carbon Sink, the Wyoming legislature has passed legislation requiring that art on parts of the university campus must be approved by the state governor and the U.W. School of Energy Resources governing board.” Being a state university, and thus a government actor, we’re wondering if pre-approval doesn’t equate to a form of content regulation bordering on prior restraint.

The artist is Chris Drury.

Given the devastation that many visual artists and arts nonprofits have faced post-Sandy, I will be taking phone calls from New York State-based visual artists and arts nonprofits who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. I will take any calls pertaining to an artist’s lost or damaged artworks — whether it was in their studio, home, gallery, or museum — and also calls pertaining to any damages to their studios or living areas. Arts nonprofits are also welcome to call me with similar questions pertaining to lost or damaged artwork or other operational questions.

There are no charges for the call. Rather, I just want to make my services available for any artist who is at a loss as to what rights they have or how they should proceed in getting compensated for their losses. Similarly, I am welcoming calls from arts nonprofits who have legal questions or questions pertaining to day-to-day operations, fund raising, or programming.

You may contact me at my law office at 347.763.2023.

Interestingly, I was just having a conversation about whether or not most of New York’s Chelsea galleries had insurance coverage and whether or not their insurance covered the damage caused by hurricane Sandy. Forbes magazine has an article on this very issue.

…anyone who has art or collectibles worth more than a few thousand dollars needs to think about a specific policy floater to cover those valuables, because above that level, items are rarely covered on regular home contents insurance.

What I’m wondering is whether or not artists who have work in New York galleries and art spaces will actually recover any insurance proceeds from these galleries and spaces for either restoration or outright loss. Something tells me many artists are going to walk away with nothing but damaged or destroyed works and not much else to show for Sandy.

As reported by Legal Daily, the publication of Committee of China’s Political and Legislative Affairs, Beijing will crack down on what it calls the “three fakes” in the current art market: fake works, fake sales, and fake auctions, which have damaged investor value as well as Chinese art’s reputation on the international market.

Via The Art Newspaper.

Parker Higgins nicely summarizes today’s Supreme Court oral arguments in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley & Sons Company. Yes, that’s the case that may negatively impact US museums and their ability to exhibit foreign made artworks. I wrote about the background and implications of this case on US art institutions earlier this month, here.

Artist, curator, and writer Lauren van Haaften-Schick is seeking submissions for a new project that stems from her last exhibition, “Canceled: Alternative Manifestations & Productive Failures.”

Non-Participation:

The project, Non-Participation, will be a collection of letters by artists, curators, and other cultural producers, written to decline their participation in events, or with organizations and institutions which they either find suspect or whose actions run counter to their stated missions. These statements are in effect protests against common hypocrisies among cultural organizations, and pose a positive alternative to an equally ubiquitous pressure to perform. At the heart of the project is the notion that what we say “no” to is perhaps more important than what we agree to.

Historic instances and examples include: Adrian Piper’s letter announcing her withdrawal from the show Reconsidering the Object of Art: 1965-1975 at LA MoCA, stating her opposition to Phillip Morris’ funding of the museum and requesting that her criticizing statement be publicly shown; A letter from Jo Baer to a Whitney Museum curator canceling an upcoming exhibition on the grounds that her work was not being taken seriously because she is a woman artist; Marcel Broodthaers open letter to Joseph Beuys questioning the relationship between artists and exhibiting institutions; and, just recently, critic Dave Hickey‘s public announcement of his “quitting” the art world.

I am now collecting your letters of non-participation, which will be compiled as a publication, with other activities surrounding the project to be determined.

Please send copies of your letters via email to lauren@laurenvhs.com.

With your submission, please indicate whether or not you wish to remain anonymous. All names and contact information can be omitted or made public, depending on your preference.

Also, feel free to include any other details or background information which could illuminate the situation, as you see fit.

The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2012.