Making sense of art and design industries

by franspettersen123

The streaming service HBO used a artist’s painting without permission. Artist Joe Coleman claims that the streaming service used his painting “Slenderman” from 2014, in a true crime documentary called “Beware the Slenderman”. The documentary tells the story of two 12-year-old girls who tried to murder a friend as a victim of the fictional, internet-born villain in 2014. The film premiered on HBO in 2017.

The artist says that his painting, which shows the “Slenderman” wrapping his fingers around the two children, is shown for over 25 seconds in one of the last pictures in the documentary. The problem is that the manufacturers never asked Coleman for permission to use it. The producers, according to Coleman, created a false impression that his work was available to anyone to use for free online, and that the producers continue to represent Coleman’s painting as an example of “Slenderman fan art”.

The main problem with the producers of Coleman’s painting as an example of “Slenderman fan art” is that it significantly reduces the value of the painting. HBO applied to dismiss the case, claiming the use was “transformative” enough to be considered fair use because the filmmakers displayed the painting on a computer screen.

This is not the first time one hears that an artist’s work is being used without permission. We see more cases in the art industry. We see another case in May 2019 where several artists claim their ideas have been copied in the new music video by the pop artist Chris Brown. The german photographer and artist Marius Sperlich is one of those who accuses the director behind the music video for the song “Wobble Up” for copying art. Sperlich posted a post on one of his social channels showing the similarity between two of his own images and two motives taken from the new music video. One of the artists who claim they have been copied in Chris Brown’s music video believes that nobody cares about innovation and crediting anymore.

One can imagine that artists like Chris Brown and the streaming service HBO Nordic use someone else’s work and art without permission, because they have the means they need to get away with it. Art is about visualizing creativity and ideas, something that all artists should be entitled to without being abused by major commercial artists or services.