Like I mentioned in my comment to Kate, I’ve been told all the prints were shipped. I hope you’ve received yours!

Last I heard all the prints had shipped. Are you still missing yours?

And I’m so sorry if this project wasn’t what you were expecting. I imagine when you made your donation, it was assumed that there was a stack of prints ready to ship out, as if from an online shop. But really, this was an art project and involved experimentation. I know my brother tried 3 different printers in attempts to get the best quality — and I don’t think that process even started till after the holidays. It sounds like the whole thing took much longer than you were expecting.

Mostly, I’m sorry that he didn’t respond to your emails as quickly as a shop owner would have. I’m sure it was very frustrating.

Oh stink – this guy’s at it again. And now he’s got a judge agreeing that he didn’t infringe on anyone’s copyrights. But the real stinger is that Prince is raking in far more dough than the original artist could even fathom. You’d think he would at least have the decency to throw him a percentage of each COPY he sold.

Personally, I just LOVE discussions of “What is art?” From when I was in high school and got into a debate with an English teacher about the value of non-representational modern paintings, to college class discussions about Marcel Duchamp’s “Readymades” and John Cage’s compositions (including that one that was just silence), to the surprising exhibits at contemporary art museums everywhere, I just love when art causes a conversation. Questioning it, seeing how others view or present something in a way that is unexpected, to me can actually make any given piece “art.” I love more traditional art, too, but I also enjoy art that I may or my not even find appealing in any sort of aesthetic way (unlike this photo, photo-of-a-photo, or photo-of-a-photo-of-a-photo, which is quite beautiful) just because of the they way it makes you think.

I don’t know much about the legal aspects of this particular situation; it’s been great to read all of the other comments. I think any creative person is entitled to owning their work, so I can absolutely see both sides, but I’m really enjoying the conversation. I like your tie in to Pinterest, too…and am wondering if any of these issues or questions are different for the new secret boards.

P.S. — I also responded to a part of your comment in my response to Michelle below.

He didn’t tell me this, but I imagine Josh wants to generate the same conversations that are happening in this comment section on a much larger scale. And by doing something hugely public — like printing the image on a billboard in a city of millions — he’s more likely to instigate those conversations.

Her brother said this: “My image questions the value and aura of the photograph if it can be copied and re-purposed at will. We are printing a picture of a picture of a magazine ad of a myth.”

So it seems like raising these questions is sort of the point. :)

I think there are several questions here. There’s a legal question – ultimately, it’s either legal or it’s not. That’s for the lawyers to battle out. Then, there’s an overlapping ethical and moral question which several other comments address. The notion of profiting from another person’s creation, whether or not you’re adjusting it, is probably tough for most of us to swallow… Unless, of course, you’re the one profiting from it, either financially or just from the publicity it brings. Lastly, there’s an artistic question, which also has been covered here. In my opinion, it would have been more interesting if your brother had taken a viewpoint on it, and until then, perhaps the emperor really isn’t wearing any clothes.

The Met made a choice to hang the photo because they appear to think (based on their own description of the work) that Prince’s piece was innovative as a concept in re-rendering. But what statement is your brother making by putting the same image on a billboard? What’s bold about copying an image from Pinterest (that come via a blog via Tumblr via a professional photographer) and posting it in yet another forum? It seems in this case like your brother is contributing to the “un-boldness” rather than the visionary approach high art is going for.

Personally, I agree with other reviewers that this “feels” like plagiarism. He’s pushing the envelope. As a fellow pusher, I respect that. But I want this to have a deeper meaning ascribed to it – a spark – something larger than just a “reproduction of a reproduction,” which feels sort of… boring. I also agree with the comment above that the statement has been made. Your post and this discussion is a statement in and of itself. Frankly, as an LA resident, seeing the billboard would steal from that purity.