What is the philosophy of this Site?

Comments from living people, who are familiar with an artist's work, help contextualize the work and broaden its meaning but many artists (particularly regional artists) are being forgotten.  The artist’s contributions are being lost; in some cases forgotten by their own family.

 

Most public institutions do not have the budget to do the research or mount shows focused on an individual regional artist.  With time, people die, resources are lost and research becomes more difficult.

 

This site is intended to assist with these issues.

The function of this site?

This site is a public platform to gather information about, and images of, works created by particular artists.  It allows for:

  • The capture of images and important information that may get lost before scholarly inquiries can be made, and

  • The solicitation of overlooked artwork to assist in scholarly research.

A secondary function of this site is to make the work of both obscure and well-known artists:

  • more available to the public, and

  • in a way that is not feasible for printed matter.

Which Artists should be on this site?

Artistic merit or style is not judged but the artist needs to be credible.   Some indicators of credibility are:

  • Works by the artist are in the collection of a public art gallery/museum.
  • The artist is the subject of inquiry by an art scholar.
  • The artist is listed in a Who’s/Who type directory.
  • The artist teaches art at a recognized Arts degree/certificate granting institution.
  • Artwork by the artist has been sold in an auction devoted to the sale of artwork (ie not an auction of miscellaneous items that happens to include some artwork.)
  • The artist has a formal arts degree ie BFA/MFA or is a member of a recognized arts club or art association.
There still could be reasons to include an Artist even if none of the above apply.

Who can contribute to this site?

If you have a list, or partial list, of artwork by an artist you should contact us.

 

If you have images for the artist, all the better.      contact us

What kind of art can go on the site?

The site is designed for art of any type and in any medium.  Sculpture, textiles, paintings, works on paper, etc of a single artist can all be displayed in a searchable manner.  

 

The most difficult artwork, from a database programming point of view, is the  print.  Each print can involve multiple states with each state in multiple editions and variants thereof.  This database accommodates and allows for the the complexity of prints.

Copyright?

We respect copyright. If you see something that you believe contravenes copyright then contact us

 

Limits of Copyright :

  • This is a Canadian site but artists of any nationality can be added to the site.  Under Canadian law, if the creator has been dead for 50 years then copyright expires.
  • Fair Use or Fair Dealing allows for limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holder.  Reviews, educational and scholarship uses may fall under Fair Use.

Types of Copyright

  • If copyright exists, to display an image of the artwork itself you need to get the artist's (or artist’s estate) permission. click here to get the pdf of our copyright license.
  • Whoever created a reproduction (e.g. a digital photo) of the artwork, even if copyright on the artwork has expired, owns the copyright for that reproduction.  You need to get the creator’s permission to use the reproduction. Click here to get the pdf of our copyright license.
Written works follow the same rules as artwork.  Except for short quotes, with credit given to the author, you can not use someone else's written material.

How is the site paid for?

  • With private funds by Lynn & Ken Martens

  • Gifts from cyberspace gratefully accepted - use this secure PayPal option 

    • you do not need a PayPal account, just click on the "continue" link beside "Don't have a PayPal account?"

History?