Re: "ARS" query from C. Pearson (fwd)

From: <Copylaw[_at_]aol.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 19:40:49 -0400

In a message dated 96-10-17 18:32:34 EDT, you write: 

> 
> Has anyone heard of an organization called ARS (or perhaps Ars)?

>>>
>>> It is apparently a body that gives permission to use images of art and
>>> architecture for republication. Specifically, I have been told that
>>> in order to publish some images of architectural works by Le Corbusier
>>> in an article that I have forthcoming, I will have to obtain rights
>>> from the group called ARS, the American arm of a European organization
>>> known as the ADAGP. I have not been able to find any records of these
>>> associations in reference books on organizations or acronyms.

Don't forget VAGA.

In additon to the Artists Rights Society (ARS) (212-840-1805), there's also the Visual Artist and Galleries Association (VAGA) (212-420-9160). ARS and VAGA can assist you locate an artist, or artist's estate, anywhere in the world. ARS and VAGA are artist's' rights organizations that grant licenses and distribute monies on behalf of their members. ARS tends to represent more Western European artists, such as Dali, Miro and Picasso, than VAGA. As a general rule, if the work was created by an American artist (e.g., Jasper Johns, George Segal, Larry Rivers, Rauschenberg), go to VAGA first.

What's important to remember about fine art reproductions, is that you need two sets of permissions. First, rights from the person or entity who owns the photographic or digital representation of the work you want to copy. Second, provided, the work is in copyright, rights from the original artist, or artist's estate. Museums, galleries and collectors do not, as a rule, automatically obtain copyright in the works they acquire. However, the museum, gallery, stock house, or collector may control "access" to the work, and therefore reproduction rights, even if the work is in the public domain. Therefore, when you request permission to use a photographic or digital image, you are actually paying for the right to use the photographic or digital image, NOT the original artwork.

Lloyd J. Jassin
Jassin & Schechter
888 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10106
212-489-6248
co-author, "An Author's Guide to Copyright Clearances, Permissions and Releases" (John Wiley) Received on Thu Oct 17 1996 - 23:43:06 GMT

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