Author: Abigail L. Lynn (Page 1 of 3)

Since Valentine’s Day was this past weekend, I thought that a fitting topic for this week would be LOVE. LOVE is a collection of sculptures created by Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark), an artist from New Castle Indiana. The sculpture is of the letters “L,” “O,” “V,” and “E,” all capitalized in an old-fashioned, serif-type font, and are stacked together in a block with a crooked “o.” Indiana created many versions of LOVE for different cities around the world, writing “love” in their respective languages, each with its own tilted letter. The original sculpture that was produced in 1970 is currently housed in the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Though the sculpture itself has become well-known by many, Indiana’s recognition is less renowned, leaving a bitter-sweet history between the artist and his work.

What does LOVE have to do with museums or museum studies? Well, according to Julia Terruso in her article, “City Still seeking permission for LOVE sculpture design,” hundreds of people showed up to LOVE park (officially named John F. Kennedy plaza) in Philadelphia in 2017, expecting to receive granite blocks painted with a rendering of LOVE that they had purchased from the city for $50.00. Unfortunately, the citizens of Philadelphia left empty handed due to a cease-and-desist letter to the city by Indiana’s representatives. As it turns out, the city did not obtain the proper copyright or trademark agreements before selling such reproductions of LOVE.

How could this have happened? Hasn’t the sculpture been reproduced numerous times before and on everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs? Yes, it has, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the individuals/organizations selling those products had the proper copyrights to the image.

To help individuals better understand the restrictions related to the LOVE case, Griesing Law published an article, “Let’s Talk About LOVE.” The article explains that under current copyright laws copyright of a work belongs to the artist/creator immediately after it is fixed (i.e. drawn, painted, or sculpted) in a tangible form of expression. In order for the artist to have additional protections the artist must register their work which would allow them to “seek statutory damages for copyright infringement.” Any copyright protections obtained by the artist last for as long as the artist is alive plus seventy years after death. Additionally, an artist can sell rights or grant permissions for use of their work. “These exclusive rights include the right to reproduce the work; the right to prepare derivative works based on the original work; the right to distribute copies of the work; and the right to display the work publicly.” However, just because a work is displayed publicly, does not mean that it is free to be used without the artist’s permission. When images are used in a commercial fashion, there is greater incentive for the artist to seek legal action. “In the case of the Philadelphia LOVE Sculpture blocks, it seems that express permission for this project was not sought because it was assumed that general permission from the artist had already been obtained. Provided the work is still subject to copyright protection written permission from the artist should have been confirmed, and if not on file, obtained before creating and selling the commemorative blocks.”

This, however, was not the end to the copyright battles around LOVE. In 2018, soon after Indiana’s death, the Morgan Art Foundation filed a suit again Jamie Thomas, the artist’s caretaker, and Michael McKenzie, the founder of American Image Art (a New York publishing company), stating that Thomas and McKenzie sold works that were falsely attributed to Indiana. In return, according to Justin Kamp in his article, “Robert Indiana’s ‘LOVE’ is at the center of a $150-million legal battle,” McKenzie claimed that the Morgan Art Foundation has committed the greater fraud “by copyrighting Indiana’s LOVE design, which […] has been in the public domain since 1964.”  The version of LOVE that McKenzie is referring to is the original design that was created by Indiana in 1964 for a Christmas card produced by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  According to the previous version of the Copyright Act, artists did not have automatic copyright to their work. Indiana, not knowing about copyright law at the time, did not seek copyright protections until he produced the sculptures. Therefore, there was a period of time in which LOVE was in the public domain.

Understanding copyright laws can be complicated – and we haven’t even touched on Trademarks. However, if any lesson is to be learned from this story of LOVE, it is that if museums and institutions that wish to use the works in their collections for more than display, it is better to confirm what rights you have than to settle lawsuits later. Additionally, artists should educate themselves on the current copyright laws so that they can be sure they have the proper protections in place for their works.

Want to learn more about the history of LOVE? Check out these links:

• The Surprising History of Robert Indiana’s “Love” Sculptures
• Robert Indiana’s Star of Hope Reaches deal with Morgan Art Foundation
• When LOVE Takes Over

As I have grown older, I have come to value artmaking as not only something fun, but as something that can help me relax or refocus my attention before returning to work. Unfortunately, this kind of stress-relieving activity can easily be dropped when one’s to-do list becomes overwhelming. I found myself falling into this very trap when the fall semester began. I couldn’t help but wonder why. If artmaking can help me reduce stress why haven’t I done it?

After some self-reflection, I found some major culprits. First is simply time. I found that when making my to-do lists for the day, I was only writing down things that I needed to be doing, such as homework or household chores. There was no time reserved for relaxation or stress-relief. Even if I had time, however, I found that I was often favoring activities which required the least amount of effort after working for a number of hours. How could artmaking become not only a habit but an integral part of my day? The final hurdle has been my general perception of what artmaking has to mean. I needed to remind myself that it wasn’t necessary to create a masterpiece with every project. Also, artmaking doesn’t have to mean drawing or painting. It can also mean crafting, making music, or even decorating pastries.

So, what are the possible benefits of artmaking on your mental health and how can museums help us out?

According to Malaka Gharib, a journalist for NPR, she did some self-reflection of her own and found that in between daily tasks she was always doodling. In order to find out why she enjoyed doodling so much and what effects it had upon her brain, Gharib spoke with Girija Kaimal, a professor and researcher in art therapy at Drexel University. Highlights from their conversation are discussed in Gharib’s article, “Feeling Artsy? Here’s How Making Art Helps Your Brain.” According to Gharib, Kaimal and a team of researchers conducted an experiment where they measured the blood flow to the brain of a variety of participants. They found that when making art there was an increased amount of blood flow to the reward center of the brain. This suggests that artmaking can stimulate the reward center of the brain despite one’s concerns regarding what to make, how to make it, or how it will look in the end.

In another experiment, Kaimal and a group of researches looked into the effects of artmaking on stress. In this case, the researches asked a group of healthy adult participants to create art for 45 minutes in a studio with an art therapist. During this time, the cortisol levels – which, according to Gharib, “is a hormone that helps the body respond to stress” – of the participants were measured. The results showed that 45 minutes of artmaking in this setting significantly lowered cortisol levels. Additionally, they found “no differences in health outcomes between people who identify as experienced artists and people who don’t.”

While understanding the benefits of artmaking on one’s mental health may be intriguing, there is still the concern of where to begin. During my undergraduate years I can remember making art all the time. However, I was also taking studio classes where I was given specific projects to complete. Without the list of class projects, I have found myself struggling to decide on what to make and how to go about making it once I have finally decided to get creative. That is where museums can offer some help.

Since the pandemic, a number of museums have increased their presence online. In some cases, museums have created online versions of activities they would normally offer within their institutions. For example, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has started creating instructional videos for their page “Junior Artists at Home.” These videos are about 10 minutes long and offer step-by-step instructions on how to complete their projects. While these videos are designed for individuals between the ages of 5-8 years old, that does not mean others cannot give it a try or use the videos as inspiration for another project. For those who are looking for a more challenging project, the museum also has a “Studio Art Classes: Tutorials at Home” page where individuals can watch artmaking video tutorials which utilize a variety of materials.

The Institute of Contemporary Art has also developed its own page, “ICA at Home,” where they provide a number of links to virtual events. Also included on the page is a list of instructional artmaking videos for at home. Sponsored by the Bank of America, the ICA’s Art Lab has been a space where visitors have the opportunity to make art that relates to contemporary art. During their closure, the ICA committed to generating a new activity for each week. These projects are still accessible on their website.

Artmaking doesn’t have to mean making masterpieces. It doesn’t even have to mean drawing, sculpting, or painting. Artmaking simply means finding a creative outlet that is enjoyable and stress-free. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to begin, especially when to-do lists get longer, and projects come due. Cultural institutions like the MFA or the ICA can offer some help, creating projects for us to try. Hopefully this week we can all find some time to get a little creative, have some fun, and make some art.