Oh man - I really liked "Alien Legion" back in the day. I thought it was one of those long-forgotten titles. I hope the revival goes well. #alienlegion
When a entertainment news item mentions Disney it doesn't necessarily mean the family-friendly Walt Disney Studios. Disney is usually entertainment shorthand for Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Disney also owns Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures. #alienlegion
I LOVED this comic when it came out. One of my all-time favorites. It's one of those things that doesn't bear some kind of OH NO THEY WILL RUIN MY CHILDHOOD thing with it for me, though. so I'm fully in favor of rolling the dice and seeing what sort of big-screen option they come up with. #alienlegion
I don't think that knowing when things are kind of like other things is as valuable a skill as most people on the internet seem to want it to be. #alexisrockman
I think all of these are interesting, but the frog in #14 is a direct rip-off of a Tim Flach photo. I recognized it because I have this print hanging in my apartment (the only thing that's different is that it's been flipped to the right--even the water droplets are copied). I'd be interested to know if Alexis Rockman bought the rights to that image... #alexisrockman
@CognitiveSystems: Like it matters! Right or wrong, Disney lawyers will just sue everyone into non-existence and bankrupt artists with legal fees. As Jafar once said: he who has the gold, makes the rules. Copyright means nothing to anyone with no money. #alexisrockman
@Mike Caprio: Actually it does matter. Tim Flach is not a household name. But say Alexis Rockman got famous off these paintings (I realize these were painted in like 2004 and she's not a household name herself yet or anything), it would kind of suck for all the other artists she "drew inspiration from" without acknowledging them. Obviously, if she had stolen an image of a crow from Van Gogh or a soup can from Warhol, those images are famous enough on their own to call upon a cultural connotation/reference.
I wonder if that's what kind of makes me bristle about this whole thing: I went to her website looking for, I don't know, like a Works Cited page. I had my students last semester create art just using images they found on databases and the interwebs, but I made them created a list of Works Cited the same way they would have if they had written a paper and used a scholar's opinion. Just because an artist doesn't think up the original image doesn't mean the way they then arrange those images isn't artistic.
Full Disclosure: I do believe Getty Images owns the rights to Frog Under Water, so it's possible Rockman bought the image from Getty. But I have no idea what their policy is in creating art from that image, as opposed to licensing the image for merchandise. #alexisrockman
@JohnnyZito: I'm not sure how the rules work for fine art (or if these images would be considered fine art or illustration) but a couple of years ago a friend's design firm had to pay off a photographer because they very loosely based an illustration background texture on one of his photos of a bunch of water droplets. They'd changed everything except a single droplet, which was upside down but otherwise untouched. Well, he recognized that droplet and was able to demand some cash for it. #alexisrockman
@CognitiveSystems: If Disney knocks on someone's door and says "We're going to bury you, so either sign this over or you'll be bankrupted by legal fees" do you think that person will just settle out of court?
Anyone who believes that "rights" mean anything more than "he who has more money wins in court" is terribly, terribly naive.
Also, you should know that "cultural reference" doesn't mean jack all when it comes to "rights". It is illegal to sing Happy Birthday anywhere without paying money to a music corporation - that's why chain restaurants all have their own invented birthday tunes that they sing. If some entity owns a work, no matter how culturally significant, and they vigorously defend it, it is effectively cut off from cultural connotation, and that's exactly what our laws allow. #alexisrockman
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(Yes, I'm giving Cameron Executive Producer credit here, not writing.) #alienlegion
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Amen. #alexisrockman
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11/07/09
I think all of these are interesting, but the frog in #14 is a direct rip-off of a Tim Flach photo. I recognized it because I have this print hanging in my apartment (the only thing that's different is that it's been flipped to the right--even the water droplets are copied). I'd be interested to know if Alexis Rockman bought the rights to that image... #alexisrockman
11/08/09
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11/08/09
I wonder if that's what kind of makes me bristle about this whole thing: I went to her website looking for, I don't know, like a Works Cited page. I had my students last semester create art just using images they found on databases and the interwebs, but I made them created a list of Works Cited the same way they would have if they had written a paper and used a scholar's opinion. Just because an artist doesn't think up the original image doesn't mean the way they then arrange those images isn't artistic.
Full Disclosure: I do believe Getty Images owns the rights to Frog Under Water, so it's possible Rockman bought the image from Getty. But I have no idea what their policy is in creating art from that image, as opposed to licensing the image for merchandise. #alexisrockman
11/08/09
11/08/09
Anyone who believes that "rights" mean anything more than "he who has more money wins in court" is terribly, terribly naive.
Also, you should know that "cultural reference" doesn't mean jack all when it comes to "rights". It is illegal to sing Happy Birthday anywhere without paying money to a music corporation - that's why chain restaurants all have their own invented birthday tunes that they sing. If some entity owns a work, no matter how culturally significant, and they vigorously defend it, it is effectively cut off from cultural connotation, and that's exactly what our laws allow. #alexisrockman
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