The Week In Photo: Zika Virus, Kid Gloves, Gaudy Seduction and Fair Use Gets the Nod
Appropriation, fair use and free speech
Love it or hate it, appropriation is a vital part of free speech. So says an Obama administration task force, which this week came out in support of “a vibrant fair use space” that allows “the broad range of remixes to thrive.”
At the same time, the task force recommended the creation of copyright small claims courts to streamline the procedures for adjudicating infringement cases, noted PDN Pulse.
The US Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force was formed to ensure that copyright policy continues to provide incentive for creativity as the digital economy changes how people communicate, create, innovate and conduct business, notes PDN.
That’s something of a balancing act. In a publication titled White Paper on Remixes, First Sale, and Statutory Damages, the task force noted that remixes — works created through changing and combining existing works to produce something new and creative — “make valuable contributions to society in providing expressive, political, and entertainment content.”
But the report did not call for amendments to copyright law that would create a specific exception or a compulsory license for remix uses. Instead, the task force offered recommendations to help remixers understand what is fair use and what isn’t.
Good luck with that. The concept of fair use can be difficult to figure out in an age when so much appropriate goes on. It’s an integral piece of our copyright law, which was designed not only to protect the property rights of creators but to foster a free flow of ideas and information.
Even guardians of First Amendment rights can have a problem with fair use. We learned this week that the New York Times raised eyebrows by filing a questionable copyright infringement lawsuit over a book that featured thumbnails of its front pages over the past decades. The Times claims that PowerHouse Books violated copyright laws by publishing 64 miniature reproductions of its front pages in the book War is Beautiful by David Shields.
Shields argued that the newspaper aestheticized war in its photography, illustrating his ideas through the use of the front-page thumbnails. While his assertions were harshly criticized by some, such critical thinking is exactly what the fair use doctrine is meant to encourage, and, noted Fortune, a number of legal experts challenged the Times’s claim. Georgetown law professor Rebecca Tushnet described the case as a “hissy fit.”
And the best of the rest of other photo stories from the past week:
1. Documenting the Fight Against the Zika Virus
The outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil and its spread to other countries has caused rising concern among national health organizations. Carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the virus is connected with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition that causes the immune system to attack one’s own nerves.
The Atlantic featured images from a number of wire-service photographers, including Marvin Recinos (AFP/Getty Images) and Felipe Dana (AP), who have been covering the story.
2. Flora Borsi ’s “Animeyed” Series
Budapest-based artist Flora Borsi may not have the eye of the tiger, but, we noted this week, she has the eyes of fish, doves, snakes and rabbits. Borsi’s series Animeyed came about when she took a selfie with her dog and realized that the canine’s eye looked just like her own.
“Borsi went all out in finding the perfect creatures for completing her photo series,” wrote FeatureShoot. “My favorite thing about photo manipulation is that I can create things that don’t exist,” Borsi told Create in an interview.
3. Jona Frank Photographs Liverpool’s Amateur Boxers
In the Fall of 2010, photographer Jona Frank began making portraits at an amateur boxing club just outside of Liverpool. The result is her new book The Modern Kids, as well as a short film called Baby-Faced Assassin.
The book features an essay by artist and filmmaker Bruce Weber, who Frank credits as an influence. The project, noted Lenscratch, is a continuation of work by Frank that explores youth culture.
“I liked watching how hard these boys worked,” Frank said. “I also liked the history.”
4. June Calypso Gazes at Modern Seduction Rituals
UK-based photographer June Calypso has been earmarked as one of the brightest new photographers to burst onto the creative scene in recent years, declared Creative Boom recently. Calypso describes her work — self-portraits in which she appears as a fictional character named “Joyce” — as “solitary studies into modern rituals of seduction and the labored construction of femininity.” She says that her ideas start with locations that have “a time-warp feel,” including motel rooms and honeymoon suites.
5. Helmut Newton in the Glossies
What if Helmut Newton had worked in the Internet age? Would he have found the inspiration for his photography in an era when imagery is delivered via electron rather than ink on paper?
As we noted this week, the new Taschen book Helmut Newton: Pages from the Glossies makes the case that the famous photographer considered the printed page to be an integral part of his process and that he produced his best work when shooting editorial and advertising pictures. Newton himself said the printed page was the “dynamo” that powered his vision.
Originally published by AI-AP. David Schonauer is editor of Pro Photo Daily. Follow him onTwitter. Jeffrey Roberts is publisher of Pro Photo Daily and AI-AP. Follow Jeffrey on Twitter. Follow Pro Photo Daily on Facebook.
