PUBLIC ART? A HANDBOOK FOR ARTISTS Raemi Amanda Wood May 1, 20052Table of Contents What is Visual Art?..............................................................................................................................4 Why is Protection Necessary? The Problems with Publicly Displayed Art ........................................6 What are Moral Rights? A Short History from Europe to Asia and the United States........................7 How Does the Visual Artists’ Rights Act Protect Art and Artists? .....................................................8 What Are VARA’s Economic Protections?.......................................................................................12 How Do the States Protect Public Art? ..............................................................................................14 What Does the Massachusetts Art Preservation Act Provide?...........................................................15 How Does MAPA Compare to the Other State Statutes? ..................................................................18 How Can MAPA Be Improved? ........................................................................................................22 Negotiating the Contract ....................................................................................................................23 Scope of Work...........................................................................................................................24 Schedule ....................................................................................................................................25 Liability.....................................................................................................................................26 Assignment................................................................................................................................26 Defects.......................................................................................................................................27 Maintenance/Damage................................................................................................................27 Authorship/Credits/Copyright...................................................................................................28 Removal ....................................................................................................................................29 Termination...............................................................................................................................29 Site Specific Artwork.........................................................................................................................30 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................30 Appendix I Visual Artists' Rights Act…………………………………………………………………………...31 Appendix II California’s Art Preservation Act.......................................................................................................34 Appendix III Massachusetts Art Preservation Act...................................................................................................40 Appendix IV Pennsylvania’s Fine Arts Preservation Act........................................................................................423Appendix V The New York Artists’ Authorship Rights Act..................................................................................44 Appendix VI New Jersey’s Artists’ Rights Act .......................................................................................................45 Appendix VII Louisiana’s Artists’ Authorship Rights Act.......................................................................................48 Appendix VIII Rhode Island's Art Preservation Act………………………………………………………………...50 Appendix A Sample Public Art Agreement............................................................................................................584 Artists are often approached by companies, cities, public institutions, or a friendly art connoisseur all who share the same belief that art displayed for the public to see helps beautify the neighborhood and introduces culture to people on a daily basis. It would be wonderful if you were one of those artists. Your work could be seen by millions, or tens depending on its location, and admired by all who see it. An artist though must be wary as to what he signs and agrees to. Without an educated understanding of the way the nation looks at and protects public art, an artist is ill equipped to negotiate terms for his artwork. If you are thinking about signing onto a public art project and feel a little overwhelmed, than this handbook can offer you a little insight into the major issues you should be aware of and the major negotiation points you should raise when discussing the future display of you artwork. Before stepping off the threshold and into the world of art, we should first look at whether this pamphlet is worth your time. In a nutshell, the United States separates artistic expression into visual art, i.e. paintings, drawings, sculpture, etc. and everything else. Visual art, because it is often displayed, is offered extra protections under the federal Copyright Statute. Because most art that is displayed publicly is visual art in some form, it is necessary for us to look at that artwork which is protected by the Federal Copyright Act before we jump into the whole of public art. What is Visual Art? The Copyright Act defines “a work of visual art” as: (1) a painting, drawing, print or sculpture, existing in a single copy, in a limited edition of 200 copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author, or in the case of a sculpture, in multiple cast, carved, or fabricated sculptures of 200 or fewer that are consecutively numbered by the author and bear the signature or other identifying mark of the author; or (2) a still photographic image produced for exhibition purposes only, existing in a single copy that is signed by the author, or in a limited5edition of 200 copies or fewer that are signed and consecutively numbered by the author. A work