Appropriation Art

Stop Harpers Cultural Cleansing

Stephen Harper’s contempt for culture has already cost him his majority government. The voters in Quebec have abandoned the Conservatives largely due to their stance on culture. Stephen Harper’s position that culture is “a niche issue for some” exposes how little he knows (or cares)about culture in the country he claims to be most qualified to lead. The Conference Board of Canada estimates that the culture sector in Canada directly represented $46 billion of the overall economy, or about 3.8 per cent of GDP. When the indirect contributions are added the cultural sector made up 7.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product ($84.6 billion) in 2007. Culture employs 1.1 million Canadian voters. Yet Harper sees culture as little more that a hobby. Grants, tax breaks and incentives given in oil, agriculture and manufacturing are seen as investments and investment in culture are seen as handouts.
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Appropriation Art Condemns Bill C-61

Today Harper’s Conservatives introduced legislation that would make Canadian copyright the most repressive in the free world. This, sadly, is neither rhetoric, nor sensationalism.

Many within the cultural community feared a draconian new legislation. Bill C-61 surpasses those fears. If passed Bill C-61 would make Canada the only democracy in history to have criminalized a recognized and legitimate art form. An art form criminalized not for its content, but for the process of its making. Today the Conservative Government erased much of the artistic discourse of the past 100 years. Today (with TPM’s) the Conservative Government locked Canadian culture firmly in the past.

It is safe to say that every important contemporary art collection in the world contains appropriation art of some form. Every anthology of contemporary art, every periodical, every textbook references and supports the practice of appropriation. And now, in Canada, willfully ignorant politicians have ruled that a time-honoured, artistic practice and art form will be rendered illegal. It is beyond shocking. It is embarrassing.

Copyright is meant to nurture the rights of creators not suppress and criminalize artistic practice. Copyright is meant to protect artistic work not define it. It is not the responsibility of any government to legislate art. Culture evolves through a dialogue between cultural institutions, educators, critics and creators - most of whom have dedicated their lives to culture. Culture also evolves through a relationship with an audience; in this case an audience who have proven again and again that work involving appropriation generates excitement …incites progress and change. Canadian artists who practice appropriation have been awarded our highest honours. How ironic. more

Appropriation Art

The Coalition

On June 6, 2006, over 600 members of Canada’s art community wrote an Open Letter to the politicians charged with shaping Canadian copyright policy. The letter expresses their deep concerns with both existing copyright law and proposed policy. The coalition reflects the diversity of Canada’s artistic community and includes some of Canada’s most gifted artists as well as influential members of the wider arts community, including gallery directors and curators, arts educators, gallery owners, writers, artist-run centres, art institutions and arts organizations. We are a group that is passionate about the making and sharing of art and culture, abot defending Canada's cultural sovereignty. We are amongst those who make, support, represent and shape our cultural future. We also rely on copyright laws to safeguard our livelihoods – but there is such a thing as too much copyright
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Appropriation Art

Legislation

For many creators more restrictive copyright is neither desirable nor beneficial. For many artists freedom of expression includes freedom to access preexisting culture. One could argue that freedom in Canada is rooted in the notion of freedom through access: access to education, access to health care, access to government. In the United States freedom appears to be freedom through domination: domination through litigation, domination through military, domination through rhetoric. Disentangling Canadian law from American rhetoric is essential in understanding what rights we have as Canadian artists, how these rights affect our work and what changes are needed.
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Canadian Legislation News