To fine-tune what Leonard wrote a bit, if I may: n.b. We are speaking here about works of art still protected by copyright -- not works that have entered the public domain. Works in the public domain may of course be cropped.
1) A museum or other collection does not hold copyright in a copyright-protected work held in its collection. Certainly not if the work is only on loan. The copyright remains with the artist, his/her heirs or representatives regardless of where the physical work is. The exception is if the museum or collection receives a legal transfer of copyright in writing from the artist or his/her heirs or representatives. 2) Moral rights: The artist (or his heirs or representatives) is the holder of copyright and moral rights in his or her works. In the US, the provisions of VARA apply. In other countries, particularly in Europe, moral rights are afforded much stronger protection. One of the moral rights of the artist (the "right of integrity") is to permit or prevent manipulation of his/her works. Cropping is considered by many to be manipulation or even misrepresentation. Others narrow the issue only to manipulation or misrepresentation that harms the artist's reputation. Example: the Succession Picasso is quite particular on this issue, and in general does not permit cropping of Picasso's works when reproduced. (Reproduced with permission, of course!) 3) It's not just cropping, it's over-printing text, gutters in double spreads, bleed or not bleed, fade, etc. Any manipulation of or change to the work of art. We've found that often, as long as the entire work of art appears in full elsewhere in the publication, website, etc., the copyright holder is okay with a crop on the cover, home page, etc. as a design element. The "full view upon click" approach that Matt mentions is an interesting equivalent. I will take the liberty of adding an opinion. The more contemporary the artist the more comfortable he or she probably is with cropping and certain other manipulations; to say that it's part of the common visual vocabulary today is something of an understatement. I also think most website visitors probably take it for granted that what's on the homepage is graphic design, not a scholarly catalog. That makes me like Matt's suggestion even more. Chris: good luck! Amalyah Keshet Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management The Israel Museum, Jerusalem ----------------------------- [Insert your disclaimer here] ----------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Leonard Steinbach Sent: Monday, December 12, 2016 7:18 PM To: Museum Computer Network Listserv Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Website image cropping 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 <[email protected]> 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> | [email protected] <mailto: >> [email protected]> >> <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: [email protected] >> >> 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/[email protected]/ >> > > > _______________________________________________ > 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: [email protected] > > 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/[email protected]/ > > _______________________________________________ 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: [email protected] 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/[email protected]/
