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 ART THEFT By Calie Vee We live in a world where respect for other people’s property is pretty much non existent, except for those few who believe strongly in respect and act accordingly. We try to bring our kids up right, just as our parents did with us and those before them. We hope what has been imparted has sunk in and that they will act accordingly. Well, in a perfect world that would be true, but we don’t live in a perfect world and rarely do we follow our own “line of crap” as the younger generation would put it. We teach our kids not to lie, cheat or steal, while doing those very things ourselves, then ask why our kids do them. Well the answer to that is simple enough, look in a mirror. Now, before anyone gets in a huff, there are a few questions you must ask yourself. 1. Have you ever left a store and realized the cashier short changed themselves and not gone back in to return the extra money your received? 2. Have you ever lied to someone about the way they looked, if you were too busy to spend time with them or, better yet, whether or not you had money when asked by your children or someone else if they could borrow from you? 3. Have you ever taken a short cut in something, such as tests, reading, doing a job, etc., knowing perfectly well you’re suppose to be doing it in the fashion laid out for you and not the way you want? It’s true that those are rather small examples compared to some real doosies some people can pull. The point is its how your children and others around you view it. Do they think it’s such a small thing? Everything you say and do is perceived in different ways by those around you and what you think is small peanuts can actually be quite serious, depending on who you talk to. For one thing, everyone knows about art theft. Some famous works of art, stolen from a home or gallery, everyone is shocked by the crime, they start to question their own safety and that of their property. Does anyone feel this way about the art that is stolen online? I can just hear the laughter at that statement. There are far too many people who think anything online is nothing but a joke and not to be taken seriously. You are so wrong. Many people today use the Internet to show their work and generate buyers. This is part of their livelihood. Part of their income is a direct result of their work being viewed online and people buying it via online. They spent time, energy and money creating art and then placing it where it can be viewed, both in the off line world, such as galleries, and online, on web created galleries. It is also worth noting that a number of offline galleries now have websites and show examples of what they currently have on these sites. All things considered, I doubt the Internet, in this respect, can be viewed as a joke and not worth anyone’s time. There are a number of people using computers and software to create art these days. Many of these programs produce art in two and three dimensional venues. It’s also worth noting that there are a number of production companies and special effects artists using these programs as well. A number of hobbyist are using programs such as Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop to either create art or work with already created art to produce such things as Scrap Kits. Scrap Kits are used by people who like to make their own photo albums or use online photo albums. You can also use these programs to create something called Siggies (Signatures) used in online posts at websites. You can also create web sets for use in creating websites. There are so many things that these programs can be used for, they are very useful tools for anyone who wants to learn how to use them. The unfortunate aspects of these programs are those who use an artist’s work, without permission, without copyright or even go so far as to put their own copyright on the image. Many artists allow their work to be used by Taggers (people who make Siggies), web set designers and scrap artists, either for a small price or for free. All these artists ask is that their copyright be on the image. With so many images available for free, a small price or programs for creating your own (some programs are free), that it’s not necessary to steal someone else’s art, yet there is a vast number of people who do and nothing serious is being done about it. Some sites that support groups have Copyright rules/laws that must be followed or the person/group gets shut down. In spite of this, many site owners are not getting rid of these people or the groups responsible for art theft, even when evidence is presented to them. The legal system is ill equipped to deal with such people, due to laws needing to be created or rewritten to cover online theft. It does not help matters when you have groups of people from sites and, in some cases, the owners of the groups and sites, ban together to protect each other, getting rid of evidence that shows art theft. In some cases these groups will ban members who raise an issue about art theft, thereby exerting control over anyone who wants to speak up, yet are too afraid to do so. Now it must be understood, not everyone and not every site is guilty of doing these things. A number of owners of sites and groups are so worried about having their site shut down they will constantly monitor things to make sure rules are followed. In some cases this does not work. There are those who will accuse falsely and one site I know of will shut you down, even without evidence, only to find the site was innocent of the accusation. People can be vindictive and will do such things. The purpose of this article is simple. Art theft is very serious, even online and it must taken seriously by those who are not online or don’t believe online is real and serious. This crime must also be taken seriously by those who are committing the crime and know they will face serious consequences for their actions. The more people who know what is happening and the legal system catches up with the technological world, the better the chances these thieves will be caught and punished for their crimes. I am placing this article on every site that I am allowed to, as well as sending it to the newspapers in my city. I ask that everyone who reads this will pass it on to newspapers and sites and help spread the word about this type of theft and help institute proper laws for it. THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS YOU. Calie Vee |
