Week 2 - On the Rights of Molotov Man
The piece is regarding a conflict between painter and artist Joy Garnett and photographer Susan Meiselas on fair use of a photograph of a man now famously recognized as the Molotov Man. In part, it introduces us to a point of view that an artist should be free to use contents of others' works to create, express and flourish. We take in inspirations in many shapes and forms and whatever comes out is nothing but a carefully crafted amalgamation of that input. I can't remember where I've read this quote that goes: "To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research." there is some truth to that. No artist can claim to be original in all aspects of their art, their art is a product of what they have consumed throughout their careers and even before their careers when they were learning the craft. But you have to be aware of certain boundaries. Of course, downright copying of another's work adding nothing in the process would rightfully be frowned upon.
In terms of protecting the context of a piece, when Susan talks about how she wants the Molotov Man to remain attached to those specific historic events in Nicaragua and not riots or combat in general, she has a point. I can totally see how an artist would feel when the narrative attached to their work is stripped away and is placed in a totally novel context. It no longer relates to the events or the incidents that the original work was inspired by in any shape or form. It removes the wonder engraved in the work that was captured in that very moment in time in favor of being creative. I believe artists should be the ones to decide whether they want further collaboration and free use of their content or not.
As I read what Joy had to say when discovering the original photograph (“I was fascinated by the original image and the richness of the narrative behind it, but it didn't make any difference to me in terms of permission or credit”) I was a little shocked. It was clearly appropriate to credit or ask for permission. Even if the original work is not recognized or celebrated in any context, the artist should still consider asking for permission. Legal matters aside, in my belief this is a big part of the respect you pay to other fellow artists’ works and the narrative behind them.
I can totally get that artists’ creative process may involve unexpected turns. Things that you don’t pay much attention in the messy process of creating something can lead to problems later. I think being mindful of the fact that mistakes happen and taking a step back to resolve it is the best way to go forward. Although things aren’t always straightforward like that, there have been numerous instances where some have misused copyright infringement laws to gain wealth and/or diminish the work of others. I can’t; however, disregard the decontextualization of a piece and how much it can damage the work or the artist’s wellbeing and believe that certain rules must exist and be abided by.
— Nima Niazi