notes.husk.org/likes images.

jenny-odell:

friends, artists… a public service announcement and warning about fraud:

In 2011 I had a solo exhibition at Wire and Nail, a (no longer existent) gallery in San Francisco. After the show, the curator held on to seven of my pieces to install at The Glint, a tech incubator. This I knew about. But when I asked for my work back after that, I was told that it was now being rented on GetArtUp.com, a site for corporate art rentals. This is not something I ever agreed to. At first I was sporadically paid a small amount for the rentals, and then nothing at all. At one point I was able to get two of the pieces back, but repeated requests for the balance of my work have come to nothing. GetArtUp will not tell me where my work is being rented, or by whom. Also, troublingly, GetArtUp.com shows the work as being for sale. I certainly never agreed to their being sold and, at this rate, doubt that I would see a cent of the money if they did. All in all the work represents a $2400 value to me, besides the fact that I had to re-produce the work for subsequent exhibitions.

If you are an artist with work on GetArtUp and are having similar problems, please get in touch with me. I’m pursuing legal action and whatever I’m able to accomplish might be of help to you as well. If you don’t have work on GetArtUp, take my advice and steer clear of it.

More generally, I see this as one instance in an upsetting trend involving the exploitation of artists and the expectation that we would produce value for free. The implication that I should be ok with this because my work is ‘getting exposure’ is an insult to me and anyone else who makes art. I hope that in the face of this, we as artists can find our feet (legal and otherwise) and push back.

I also worked for GetArtUp for a short time, initially hired on to do marketing and outreach. What I quickly discovered was a very unprofessional work environment with little to know corporate responsibility, follow-up, or organization. 

Artists I suggested we contact were put on the site with no permission from the artists themselves, legally binding agreements were either delayed or non-existent, and I heard of countless artists not being paid. Thankfully, I was paid but after they had me basically be a booth girl at a conference, I left.

That’s why you should know the difference between having a good idea and executing an idea well.