Re: The Politics of the Bootleg

From: Lisa Oppenheim (email suppressed)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2008 - 05:22:17 PDT

Hi Tony-
  But there still is a difference between when you or I sell a work and something that is obviously a 'preview copy'. Which exists outside the edition and is not rented or sold. It is a DVD and it has the movie on it, but is not the work. Similarly, I would still argue that no one is going to confuse a tiny low res quicktime file on their desktop with the flickr with the 'work.' People are with it enough to know that they are not looking at the actual piece, only a cruddy crude copy for reference, as with a preview copy.

    Your gallery might send jpegs of your work to collectors, but no one thinks those are the actual works. No one buys a jpeg, they buy the work. I think therefore it is not a stretch to say that a quicktime clip of one of your or my films is not the work.

Anyway, not sure if you want to deal with this stuff in the days before the big thing at the Tate. But good luck! I wish I was there to see it an everyone in London should definitely go!
Lisa




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: The Politics of the Bootleg
From: Tony Conrad <(address suppressed)>
Date: Wed, June 11, 2008 10:25 am
To: email suppressed

Hi Lisa---------

You're getting into a mixed terrain here: we are not talking about citation, or appropriation, or
brief quotations, as your remarks suggest, when you give as examples "youtube clip(s)" or "video
taped off a monitor." That is, this is not about "representations" of the work, but the work
itself, in its various forms. When a feature film is sold on DVD, that's not called
a "representation" of the work; it is called the work.

---------t0ny



On Wed Jun 11 1:31 , Lisa Oppenheim <lisa@LISAOPP.NET> sent:

>Tony- I love your work. And I have enormous respect for you and your practice. Hell, you named
the Velvet fucking Underground. But on this point I think you have it wrong. It is not about your
work or the way it disseminated, it is about representations of the work. Who owns a youtube clip
of a video taped off a monitor? Is that the work? That's like saying a postcard of the Mona Lisa
is the intellectual property of Leonardo.
>Much respect,
>Lisa
>
>
>
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>
>Subject: Re: The Politics of the Bootleg
>
>From: Tony Conrad <conrad@BUFFALO.EDU>
>
>Date: Wed, June 11, 2008 2:04 am
>
>To: FRAMEWORKS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
>
>
>
>Thanks Rick--------
>
>
>
>I agree of course: your point is that STRATEGICALLY speaking it makes sense to
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>disseminate one's work as widely a possible. My point remains: the decision to
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>PURSUE this strategem, or not to do so, should belong to the owner (maker) of the
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>work.
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>
>
>--------t0ny
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>
>
>
>
>On Tue Jun 10 19:48 , Rick Prelinger <footage@PANIX.COM> sent:
>
>>.......
>
>>I defend Tony's right to know where his work is going and steer it in a
>
>direction he feels appropriate. But the times may not favor his or any artist's
>
> exclusive control. For Tony, I suspect there is value in maintaining a measure
>
>of control and scarcity. I'd only say that the more people that get to see his
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>work and appreciate his career, the value of the billable events that happen
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>around his work will increase. This has been our story.
>
>>
>
>>Rick
>
>>
>
>>Rick Prelinger
>
>>Prelinger Library & Archives, San Francisco
>
>>Board President, Internet Archive
>
>>
>
>>
>
>>__________________________________________________________________
>
>>For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at PipChod@aol.com>.
>
>>
>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>Tony Conrad 716-400-8738
>
>
>
>Department of Media Study, Center for the Arts 231, University at Buffalo 14260
>
>
>
>190 Bedford Av, Ste 126
>
>Brklyn NY 11211
>
>
>
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>
>For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <PipChod@aol.com>.
>
>
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <PipChod@aol.com>.
>
>
>


Tony Conrad 716-400-8738

Department of Media Study, Center for the Arts 231, University at Buffalo 14260

190 Bedford Av, Ste 126
Brklyn NY 11211


__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <PipChod@aol.com>.

__________________________________________________________________ For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <(address suppressed)>.