Building a bit on what Matt is saying, maybe a bit more simply from a rights issue.
1) Even if a museums owns a work, it does not necessarily own copyright unless it was specifically conveyed in whole or part with purchase (or if loaned - and similarly the lender may not have copyright.) Whether you use an image in whole or part in use you are describing, the rights need to be cleared. 2) If even a copyright holder seems to give permission to use a work's image online, that copyright holder may not have the right to permit the image to be used if cropped or otherwise manipulated because "moral rights" under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) or other laws (varies internationally, and some state laws may enhance) may apply. Under that act, under the "the right of integrity" enables artists to prevent the intentional distortion mutilation or other modification of a work that is harmful to their honor or reputation. or the copyright holder if not the artist may not the right to permit such changes. See this doc on the subject <http://www.sparcinla.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/DOC_4_SPARC_VARA.pdf> . I have no explicit cite on hand with respect to a digital image rather than an original work, but this is about "reputation" so I believe it would apply. Finally I am aware of the case of an exhibition of a major modern artist, whose Estate, which handled rights issues, absolutely, when asked, prohibited the use of a cropped image for the front fold of an exhibition brochure. Good thing they were asked. Hope this helps (and please chime in if I have misconstrued something) On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 11:38 AM, Matt Morgan <m...@concretecomputing.com> wrote: > It's a problem, yes! > > Whoever makes your printed posters can probably tell you how frequently > your exh. images need permission/input before cropping. In my experience, > on top of the literal rights issues, you also have the personality issues. > E.g., when an important person (artist, curator, donor, collector) doesn't > like the way something looks, you might not do it even if you're within > your rights. Different museums may put different weight on the latter > issue. I don't think I've ever cropped an artwork image without a curator > having veto power; but that may not be the practice everywhere. Being clear > about that ahead of time may save you a lot of effort down the road, if you > can get authority to do it within your department. > > Sometimes the "full view upon click" approach has helped with one or the > other kind of issue. But even figuring out what the options are can be a > time-sink. On the other hand, if you have a poster/print/advertising design > department already securing permission for this kind of work, maybe you can > tell them what aspect ratios work for you, and they can handle it. > > What about resizing for responsive displays ... will the images retain the > same shape and details at every size? Or will foreheads potentially get > chopped off, etc. That may be important for everyone to understand and plan > for. > > best, > Matt > > > On 12/12/2016 11:15 AM, Chris Alexander wrote: > >> Hello all >> >> We're currently redesigning our website and a question came up. I'm >> hoping to cull some information from the museum community about how other >> museums handle the same situation. >> >> On our exhibition page the redesign relies heavily on landscape image >> similar to this - where text floats to the left of a landscape image then >> switches on the next exhibit listing. >> >> ------------ ••••••••••• >> ----text---- • Image • >> ------------ ••••••••••• >> ••••••••••• ------------ >> • Image • ----text---- >> ••••••••••• ------------ >> ------------ ••••••••••• >> ----text---- • Image • >> ------------ ••••••••••• >> >> The design requires the images to all be the same size for it to look >> it's best, meaning they would be cropped in a lot of cases. We came across >> a lot of museum sites with similar requirements during our discovery phase. >> >> My question is - how are museums handling this? Do you secure rights for >> cropping artwork? How difficult has it been if so? Are museums offering a >> full image view on click of the cropped image? Are there museums throwing >> caution to the wind? >> >> Very interested in hearing from you all! >> >> Best regards, >> >> Chris Alexander >> Digital Media Manager >> Cantor Arts Center >> Stanford University >> 328 Lomita Drive<x-apple-data-detectors://0/1> >> Stanford, CA 94305-5060<x-apple-data-detectors://0/1> >> >> 650.723.6114<tel:650.723.6114> | cma...@stanford.edu <mailto: >> cma...@stanford.edu> >> <http://museum.stanford.edu/>http://museum.stanford.edu<http >> ://museum.stanford.edu/> >> <http://cantorcollections.stanford.edu/>http://cantorcollect >> ions.stanford.edu<http://cantorcollections.stanford.edu/> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >> >> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu >> >> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >> http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l >> >> The MCN-L archives can be found at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/ >> > > > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer > Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > The MCN-L archives can be found at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/ > >
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