Letter Sent to Ministers

Appropriation Art Coalition sends letter to Ministers Prentice and Verner

The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Industry
5 th Floor, West Tower, C.D. Howe Bldg.
235 Queen St.
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages
25 Eddy St.
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M5
Dear Minister Prentice and Minister Verner:

Re: Canadian Copyright and Cultural Reform

We write to you as a coalition of Canadian Art Professionals – Artists, Curators, Arts Organizations and Arts Institutions – who share a deep concern over Canada’s copyright policies and the impact these policies have on the creation and dissemination of Contemporary Art. We work in Canada’s cultural sector, and we depend on effective copyright laws for our living. Effective copyright laws must offer artists the legal means to enforce their rights in their work, but must not censor or destroy the creativity of others. Canada’s existing copyright laws simply do not reflect the reality of contemporary artistic practice. While we support your decision to delay introduction of the Act to Amend the Copyright Act , we fear that revisions currently under consideration will further compound many artists’ problems under the law. At particular risk, should copyright become more protectionist, are those artworks using appropriation. These include but are not limited to, Conceptual Art, Art Video & Film, Sound Art, Collage, Multi-media, Performance Art. These are cornerstones of contemporary culture.

The practice of Appropriation is a fundamental part of many creative cultural activities. Works of visual art that use Appropriation have a long, distinguished and well documented place in the History of Art. This work is collected and exhibited in major cultural institutions across Canada and around the world. We cannot open a book on modern and contemporary art without being presented with some form of appropriation. Appropriation involves the integration of existing cultural products (movies, top 40 songs, television, radio, advertising, characters etc.), but in such a way that these cultural products are transformed and a new and original work of art is created. Yet in spite of the history, vitality and importance of Art using appropriation, this process is being threatened, as are the rights of artists who practice it. And vulnerable new forms of creativity using appropriation are being extinguished. Canada’s contemporary artists and the cultural community are its future. We ask you, our government, to protect our rights.

We have come together to offer three principles that in our view must ground Canadian copyright policy:

Fair access to copyrighted material lies at the heart of Copyright. Lobbyists for the copyright industry claim that copyright owners need greater control over works. This is a misrepresentation of copyright. Copyright is meant to protect and encourage creativity not suppress and restrict it. The law grants copyright owners limited rights over their works. Balanced against those rights are the rights of those who follow. Creators need access to the works of others to create. Legislative changes premised on the ‘need’ to give copyright owners even more restrictions over their works must therefore be rejected.

Artists, creators and galleries require Certainty of Access. Artists who use appropriation in their practice, rely on Canada’s fair dealing exception to create. Fair dealing is a narrow right, at times too narrow to support this work. The works of art we speak of here do not compete with the appropriated material, nor does the value of the work of art derive from the value of its subject. Creators should enjoy the support of the law, and not have to work under conditions of uncertainty and fear. The time has come for the Canadian government to consider replacing fair dealing with a broader defense, one that will offer artists the certainty they require to create and exhibit their work. Any new legislation should, at the very least, include exceptions consistant with recent legislation such as sections 3 (5) and 3(6) (parody and artistic use) of Bill C-47 .

Anti-Circumvention Laws Should Not Outlaw Creative Access. We understand that the Canadian government is considering legislation to privilege technical measures that protect access to digital works. Such laws must be rejected. Artists who use appropriation work with a contemporary palette, using new technology. They work from within popular culture, using material from movies and popular music. The law must not outlaw otherwise legal dealings with copyrighted works merely because a digital lock has been inserted. Contemporary culture must not be immune to critical commentary. Exciting and important new forms of creativity will be destroyed if anti-circumvention laws are imposed.

Expansive copyright laws are often justified in the name of benefitting artists. We are stating that this is simply not the case. We are not a country that will flourish under excessive copyright laws. Those represented by the Appropriation Art Coalition are a significant and important community within Canada’s large cultural network. We want to ensure free, expressive and independent Canadian Culture. We do not want to follow the lead of the United States in matters concerning copyright. Canada needs laws that put Canada first. We want neither legislation nor a government who preference external pressure and corporate desires over the needs of their citizens. Without proper consultation, the future of Canada’s flourishing contemporary cultural community is threatened by this Bill. The eyes of the world are on us as we consider the next step. We ask that you consult with us on any potential copyright legislation this government intends to table before further decisions are taken.

Yours sincerely,
Gordon Duggan (co founder)
Sarah Joyce (co founder)
for the Appropriation Art Coalition

cc:
Susan Bincoletto (bincoletto.susan@ic.gc.ca)
Director General,
Marketplace Framework Policy Branch Industry Canada

Barbara Motzney (barbara.motzney@pch.gc.ca)
Director General, Copyright Policy
Department of Canadian Heritage

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