Return to Technical Information
by Richard Solomon
(Originally published in the MCLA Newsletter, v. 7, n. 3)
With the establishment of the Conservancy's World Wide Web site showcasing Los Angeles murals, the interesting question is raised whether muralists need to provide consent when photographs of their murals are placed there. The Web site information--which includes material about the Mural Conservancy itself, biographical sketches about muralists, and information and photographs of Los Angeles' public murals--is accessible to a world-wide audience.
Generally the creator or owner of a work of art needs to consent before photographs of it are reproduced, especially if the reproduction is done for profit. However, authors and publishers can make what is called "fair use" of artwork by, for example, including photo reproductions in catalogues or critical articles. Assuming that consent is preferable, MCLA makes every effort to explain the Web project to the mural community and obtain the consent of as many muralists as possible.
Where an artist is deceased, MCLA makes a reasonable effort to contact next-of-kin for consent. Similarly, where an artist has no current address or forwarding information available, MCLA also tries to determine their whereabouts. If these efforts fail, MCLA adds the mural to the Web site with the same biographical and technical information included for other murals. The Board policy is that if an artist, or a relative of the artist, should object to this placement the image will immediately be removed, even though this is not a requirement under "fair use."
We hope readers agree that MCLA's policy best accomodates the potentially conflicting interests of a mural artist who may want to limit or prevent electronic depiction of their mural(s), and mural lovers who want access to as much material about the murals as possible.