Jon Pettyjohn on mon 10 apr 00
Hi,
We are having a controversy here in Manila about a sculpture
competition first prize that was withdrawn when the judges
were informed that the sculptor (who often works with found
objects) used some fiberglass cast figures that were discarded
by one of his students (he had her permission). He altered the
figures substantially by adding different heads and weaving
the figures together. The artist has decided to sue the
organization that held the competition.
I seem to remember a similar case in the U.S. many years
ago about an award winning clay sculpture that contained
a casting of a house, and the house mold was not made by the
artist, it was one of those commercially available molds. If I
remember right the prize was also withdrawn, and I think the
case went to court. I wonder if anyone knows how that story
ended ? I never heard.
We're trying to find precedents in other countries to serve
as guidelines if anyone happens to know of other cases.
My personal feeling is that although there is a controversy
here, there is no way to formulate a hard fast rule to cover
these issues and I fear this will turn into a sort of witch
hunt that won't do anyone any good.
Thanks,
Jon Pettyjohn
Mt. Makiling, Philippines
Alice Chittenden on tue 11 apr 00
Hi, Jon.
The piece you are referring to is Howard Kottlers' The Old Bag Next Door
is Nuts. It's a piece that still makes me chuckle even though I must
have seen pictures of it at least a hundred times. It's a visual play on
words, so to speak. The artist made a clay model of a paper lunch bag
(I'm guessing by pouring casting slip into a paper bag and then firing)
which he then filled with clay peanuts. Next to this he placed a house
(approximately the same height) which had been slip cast from a
commercial mold. This was back in the seventies and it did create an
uproar. I'm sorry I can't enlighten you about any legal aspects
concerning the work. Looking back, it seems a bit overblown. At that
time Andy Warhol was making art from images of Campbell's soup cans,
Robert Rauschenberg was incorporating found objects into his paintings
and you'd think no one had seen Duchamps urinal. But then again, if
you're embracing a tradition of handmade pottery, it might be hard to
accept a mold.
Alice, in Connecticut, where it's snowing for the second time this week!
Jon Pettyjohn on wed 12 apr 00
Hi Alice,
The the guy's name was Kottler, I remember now, I never saw
the actual piece, pity you didn't here the end of the story.
Kottler became quite famous I think, didn't he do some urinal
sculptures in a factory later?
The controversy isn't about molds per se, it's about using an
element in a sculptural work made by someone else. Stupid really,
sculptors do this all the time, how could you make a rule against
found objects for example?
Someone in Canada told me that their organization had a rule against
using cast elemnts if the mold wasn't made by the artist, I find
that hard to believe.
Thanks for the reply,
Jon
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hi, Jon.
>
> The piece you are referring to is Howard Kottlers' The Old Bag Next Door
> is Nuts. It's a piece that still makes me chuckle even though I must
> have seen pictures of it at least a hundred times. It's a visual play on
> words, so to speak. The artist made a clay model of a paper lunch bag
> (I'm guessing by pouring casting slip into a paper bag and then firing)
> which he then filled with clay peanuts. Next to this he placed a house
> (approximately the same height) which had been slip cast from a
> commercial mold. This was back in the seventies and it did create an
> uproar. I'm sorry I can't enlighten you about any legal aspects
> concerning the work. Looking back, it seems a bit overblown. At that
> time Andy Warhol was making art from images of Campbell's soup cans,
> Robert Rauschenberg was incorporating found objects into his paintings
> and you'd think no one had seen Duchamps urinal. But then again, if
> you're embracing a tradition of handmade pottery, it might be hard to
> accept a mold.
>
> Alice, in Connecticut, where it's snowing for the second time this week!
>
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