Young artist Scott Blake‘s article about his altercation with photographer and painter Chuck Close starts with a simple question: “When one of the world?s richest living artists orders you to stop making art, you do it. Or do you?” It’s been two years since Close, who is referred to in the article as “the wealthy bully,” put a stop to Blake’s Chuck Close Photoshop plug-in by threatening a lawsuit, and Blake still hasn’t managed to put what he sees as the injustice of the whole situation behind him. Hence, his article.
The article, which originally appeared in Hyperallergic, is tantamount to an open letter to Close himself. In it Blake discusses how he believes his plug-in (which imitated Close’s hand-made photo mosaic style) falls under fair use, but that he doesn’t have the resources to defend his case in court against one of the richest artists on the planet.
In truth, the first email he received from Close was in all caps, threatening lawsuit and stating in no uncertain terms that he did not want to be associated with this project. Blake, horrified to have received such an upsetting e-mail from one of his icons, replied.
Close wrote back:
The full article is certainly worth reading, and includes the entire conversation between Blake and Close, ending with Close’s good natured invite that Blake might come by his studio and “say hello.” Blake never made that trip, but to this day still claims fair use and plans to somehow release his filter 100 years after Close has died and no further legal dispute might arise.
Obviously Blake believes he is in the right and that Close needs to be willing to “pass the torch to the next generation.” The conclusions one draws from the interchange and the article, however, are entirely subjective. Is this really the wealthy bully vs the fledgeling artist? Or is Blake’s work less “appropriation” and more copyright infringement? Check out the full article and give us your take on the whole situation in the comments below.
My Chuck Close problem (via Boing Boing)
