A General Members Meeting for the Hardcore
Hardcore and brave! Fighting rain, wind and the Sunday afternoon weekender exodus, hardcore members of the Artists and Writers of East Hampton, found shelter from the storm at board member Giancarlo Impiglia’s beautiful studio for our July General Members meeting. So our work goes on. We have hokey photos to prove it. We thank Giancarlo for a very warm welcome and for sharing his beautiful work.
Also, we thank Carol Steinberg for bravely weathering a storm of questions from members about the scary implications for artists of moves to water down copyright protection under the Orphan Works Act now being considered in both the House and Senate. Essentially, the cost of stealing intellectual property from artists by unscrupulous individuals and corporations will get a lot cheaper—at the artist’s expense. So, we urge members –even non members to send a letter to our congressman (Tim Bishop, D) and Senators Clinton and Schumer protesting this potential rip-off. You can find good template examples of letters and a thorough discussion of the issues at the following websites:
Graphic Artists Guild—www.gag.org
American Society of Media Photographers —www.asmp.org
Copyright issues - in a digital age of viral – if not pandemic stealing of images – has enormous potential for damage to artists rights. Every artist, visual or otherwise needs to learn how to protect his or her work. The small group of members peppered Carol with questions, horror stories, how do I do this to protect that…In the time we had she could not have answer every question – even start to answer: so, it seems like we need to get her back – with other experts in strategies to prevent the theft of images and therefore livelihood. Seems incredibly timely. We’d welcome any ideas from members about speakers: people you think could make a contribution to the discussion.
We’ll have minutes of the meeting available for posting to the website shortly. President Rich MacDonald brought up the urgent need to get all members to register for our new website – First, it is a way to get blast emails of AWEH events and member announcements out to members and the press; it’s a forum for member voices to be heard (we’ll be asking all members to write commentary for our front page); it is a way to trade equipment, find space etc., and soon make contact with other members with instant messaging etc. We also need members to use the site and to think critically about what could improve its usefulness to our membership. We are a small group but our site should enhance our effectiveness.
Finally, make sure you send your announcements for posting to the site. It will help build internal cohesion and support within our community. Despite the fact that our group does not show together, our members (US, ourselves right?) show all the time and want and deserve the encouragement and backing of fellow members (EACH OTHER). So, put AWEH on your email list to make sure that your friends in our group know what you are up to and can come to share in the joyful event.
Writers of AWEH Hold Readings in July
Seek More Writers to Read in August and September
The writers of AWEH featured local writers Tom Clavin, Jo Carney, Kara Westerman, Bill Conklin, Rosita Benson, and Barry McCallion, who read from their work under the shade trees next to the Springs General Store on Friday, July 11, 2008. We had a good turnout and we think an hour allowed for all the readings was just right to hold peoples’ attention.
We want to do this again, possibly in August, and for sure in September, so if you have something elegant to read—poetry, a short, short story or excerpt from a book, please let us know. Please choose something that you can read in five to seven minutes or so. We’d prefer it if you submitted a manuscript ahead of time so we know what you’re planning to read.
In the future, the writers would also like to have panel discussions, single-author readings and, perhaps, a social gathering so writers can meet and mingle. If you have other ideas, let Katy or Libby (phone numbers below) know.
At our general membership meeting Sunday, July 27, 2008, arts attorney Carol Steinberg spoke about the Orphan Works Act, which would allow the unscrupulous to use your work as theirs without your being able to collect full damages. It will water down the copyright protections for work you may have already registered. And if your work hasn’t been registered, go to http://www.copyright.gov/help/ for information on how to register.
Meanwhile, for further information about this deadly Act, which is before the House and the Senate, please read the minutes from the meeting; they can be found on the home page.
In other news, several writers met in June to discuss Vox Hamptons Magazine’s slow payment of its writers. In some cases, including mine, they simply have not paid at all. And to get a check, authors have had to practically beg the editors to make sure the publisher pays them. The group agreed that the best way to fight this kind of behavior is to stop working for them. It’s a shame because Vox Hamptons pays—if and when they finally send a check—really well compared with the local papers and other local magazines. If anyone has had trouble with Vox Hamptons, please let us know.
The writers of AWEH really want to be on top of issues like this. Protecting writers’ rights is at the heart of what AWEH wants to do in general. Please bring any concerns you have about writers’ rights to our attention.
To submit a manuscript for our series of readings, and for more information about anything having to do the writers and the AWEH, contact Katy at 267-3309 or Libby at 907-4361.
--Katy Gurley
Artists Have Been Abused as Long as There Have Been Benefits
Hot! OMG! High summer at the beach. ART seems to be everywhere, a centerpiece to every possible charitable table –like art and charity go together. As if artists can give away their work –are expected to give it away like it is community property– unlike, the caterers, event organizers, table, chair, tent rental companies. What the heck? How come everybody else gets paid? As if there are no costs of making a picture, no materials to buy, no rent due each month on studio space, no phone bills, no gas to deliver the art work to the site of the benefit, no food for the artist to sustain himself—as if the pictures appear magically. Artists have been abused economically in the Hamptons for as long as there have been benefits. What’s to be done? Recognize that making art is a business or, at least, an occupation– with costs of production and opportunity costs for not doing something else. Sorry to de-romanticize, but artists need to be remunerated for their contribution to society, not preyed on by every Tom, Dick and Harry, 501 (c) 3 non profit.
--Rich MacDonald
How To Become A Member:
The organization seeks committed artists and writers from the East End, who wish to work towards improving the conditions of all artists and who espouse the principles and bylaws of AWEH. New members must be nominated by existing members and approved by the Membership Committee. We suggest attending our open meetings (usually the last Sunday of the month), reading our bylaws and contacting an existing member (found on this site) to see how you might contribute to the AWEH.
|
