Legal Perspective
Four legal experts elaborate on the problem of the net.art generator from a legal perspective
4-channel video installation, 2004 (duration 12 to 15 minutes each)
After the Forum für Neue Medien [plug.in] in Basel cancelled a planned exhibition of Cornelia Sollfrank’s automatically generated Warhol flower collages on the grounds that it represents a violation of Warhol’s copyright, the artist decided to realize a sober video installation for [plug.in] instead of the colorful flower pictures. She submitted her “case” to four copyright law experts and installed their arguments on larger-than-life-sized bases.
The interviews not only illustrate the different appraisals of the situation by various jurists but also clearly demonstrate the legal grey area between artistic freedom and the letter of the law resulting from artistic appropriation. Aesthetic necessities and legal logic appear irreconcilable.
Thanks to the participating lawyers: Peter Eller, Munich; Jens Brelle, Hamburg; Dr Rolf auf der Maur, Zurich; Dr Sven Krüger, Hamburg.
Thanks to the collaborating lawyers: RA Peter Eller, Munich; RA Jens Brelle, Hamburg, Dr Rolf auf der Maur, Zurich; Dr Sven Krüger, Hamburg.
