Image from: http://bbook.com/art/richard-prince-thief-genius-527/
In 2014, famous appropriation artist Richard Prince held a
high art exhibition in New York’s Gagosian Gallery entitled “New Portraits”. The
portraits included in the show were in the style of Instagram snapshots,
similar to those taken from an iPhone screenshot. The show acquired global attention, however, when it was exposed that
the artist had taken all his images from other people’s Instagram accounts
without their permission. As this information spread, some of the owners of the
photos became infuriated (and rightfully so) especially after they learned that
some of their own images had sold for close to $100,000. Many Instagram users
who were featured in the show were determined to take back what was “rightfully”
theirs, however, none have been successful so far. Prince has avoided copyright
laws as he has added his own artistic elements to the work, such as the
Instagram elements and his own comments that were added in afterwards.
Image from: http://www.artuner.com/artists/richard-prince/
Some of the photos used in the show are the work of other photographers who use Instagram as a space to market their own work. This was the case for Donald Graham, who is now attempting to sue Prince for stealing his photography and profiting from it.
Graham’s “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint”, and Prince’s version
from “New Portraits”
Image from: http://petapixel.com/2016/01/04/photographer-sues-richard-prince-for-stealing-his-instagram-photo/
While Instagram does not claim that it owns any photos that
you post to their platform, the site is not a safe place in which one cannot
use your content without your knowledge. But how does this translate to others
taking your photos without your consent? This would not be allowed on
Instagram, according to their Terms and Conditions, as they shut down accounts
that “steal” photos from other users and post them as their own. However, as
artists begin using these social
platforms for business purposes in order to brand their work, lines become
blurred in terms of what content is personal or public when published in a
public forum.
Under Instagram’s “Rights” section, it claims:
“Instagram does not claim ownership of any Content that you post on
or through the Service. Instead, you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive,
fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to
use the Content that you post on or through the Service, subject to the
Service's Privacy Policy, available here http://instagram.com/legal/privacy/, including
but not limited to sections 3 ("Sharing of Your Information"), 4
("How We Store Your Information"), and 5 ("Your Choices About
Your Information"). You can choose who can view your Content and
activities, including your photos, as described in the Privacy Policy.”
Following the link I found the following information:
“Subject to your profile and privacy settings, any User Content
that you make public is searchable by other Users and subject to use under our
Instagram API. The use of the Instagram API is subject to the API Terms of Use which incorporates the terms
of this Privacy Policy.”
However, the “API Terms of
Use” link brings you here:
As explored in class, terms and policies for these social
media sites are often broad and difficult to understand and many users don’t
understand their own rights when using these networks to display their own
personal information. In the process of branding oneself, using “free” services
to gain popularity and possible revenue for themselves through advertising, the
user has actually given up their right to the images they post, both in terms
of Instagram using and selling your photos to others, as well as others
accessing and using your product for their own gain.
Image found: http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/welcome-to-frieze.html
Sources: https://help.instagram.com/478745558852511/?ref=hc_fnav
http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/30/8691257/richard-prince-instagram-photos-copyright-law-fair-use
