Regarding my earlier post about Lightning Field, an art installation in New Mexico that prohibits photos of the terrain on which it sits, Greg sez:
The "Official" Lightning Field photos are a tricky conceptual issue, to be sure. For everyone except the few thousand people who have ever visited the dirtsite itself, the artwork only "exists" as photos. It's a construct and a thorny IP question that the artist has apparently been aware of since day one.
A couple of years ago, I linked to a 2001 interview in Cabinet Magazine with John Cliett, the photog-for-hire who documented the Lightning Field for deMaria and Dia. It's pretty fascinating stuff, especially for art fans.
It doesn't refute any of the annoying copyright abuses you point out–Control and Money are front and center–but it does add some cranky, suspicious artist perspective to the discussion.
(Thanks, Greg!)
