Integrity and disintegration… (Whilt 18)

From time to time, and recently quite often, I catch myself as being innocently and profoundly ignorant as to the meaning of some concepts, ideas, words, phrases… It’s got something to do with the English as an adopted language; even if it’s used completely naturally and fluently – there is always that surreal quality of putting on a mask, a costume, going on stage each time I have to or choose to communicate in not-my-mother-tongue… What’s interesting, that after years of being cut of the sophisticated, literary and everyday usage of Polish I’ve lost that absolute ‘feeling’, that innate sense of my first language… So, I’m somewhere between; and even craving – I’m not able to create a decent fiction or poems in either of codes of expression… not yet, not without a considerable struggle, at least…

So, I’ve come across that concept of the artistic integrity – first I had to check in five different dictionaries (of three languages) extended definitions of the notion; each one had a slightly varying shade of meaning attached; so I felt like juggling between them composing the balanced outlook…

Then – the tougher bit came when I asked myself – But what exactly does it mean – to be an artist of integrity? Does it mean the same as being the man of integrity, or – can the professional integrity coexist with the personal disintegration and vice-versa? Is integrity ‘merely’ a virtue you possess or not like courage or modesty, or rather a fundamental component of any individual, without which a serious trouble creeps into your life?… And  how this noble talk relates to the contemporary postmodern ethics (or rather non-ethics) of making/dealing with art? Who has, who can afford now to keep his/hers artistic integrity over time, when sometimes one call from a hated curator or a critic you disregard may be a life changing event? And so on, and so on…

Quite recently I’ve unwillingly provoked one of my tutors (calling my new paintings ‘a mess’) to form and challenge me with ‘the tough question’: If you won’t have an integrity with your work – who else will? To have an integrity with one’s work – that means to be unified in terms of the intent, concepts and the general message; or does it? If I call my own work ‘a mess’ – publicly and honestly – isn’t that enough to prove my solidarity with it? My demanding, yet compassionate unity with a piece of art which happens to be as confused as its author? Does it always have to sound ‘assertive’ and ‘confident’; ‘positive’ and ‘grand’ – like in salesmen’ slimy talk where even obvious downsides are clothed in sweetish-easy ‘solutions’…

And why is ‘integrity’ such a sought feature in an artist after all? I bet it suits perfectly some particular ‘breeds’ of professions – lawyers, doctors, teachers, intellectuals – sure… I know men who are a book-like example of the whole phenomenon – they’re noble and loyal, creative and open-minded; yet there is something vital missing in them – a spark of imagination empowering to jump in the dark, to take bold risks and challenge barriers or even rules, if necessary; they’re the guardians of the gates – and no artist should aim at that domain (not only, not merely, not predominantly).

An artist is a man of integrity chiefly via the creative act – by doing what he was born for – in the best, most dedicated way he/she knows and can apply; what comes to the world from that act is another matter – yet so-called integrity has nothing, or little to do with that.

If my work’s integrity comes from its conscious and chosen disintegration and subversion who can prove it wrong, and on which grounds?

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Copyright Issues for bloggers…

Here is few issues to consider for all of us:

(as outlined by Georgia K. Harper, Manager, Intellectual Property Section for the University of Texas System Office of General Counsel):

1) What is the character of the use of my image/text/video?
2) What is the nature of the work to be used – educational/entertaining/’mature’?
3) How much of the work will you use?
4) What effect would this use have on the market?
And my own reflections:

– do you intent to present the image/work in a way it was meant (by its creator/s) to be presented/read?

– why do you use the image/work – is it because you want to illustrate/stress your educational point or due to the pure ‘decoration’ of your site?

– how clearly/fairly  the credits to the authors are displayed?

– have you made an attempt to contact the owner/s, how long are you prepared to wait for the response?

– have you considered your own intellectual property to be shared, how would you inform your readers/viewers about it?

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Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms, or “works”. Specifics vary by jurisdiction, but these can include poems, theses, plays, other literary works, movies, dances, musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, software, radio and television and broadcasts.

Copyright does not cover ideas and information themselves, only the form or manner in which they are expressed. For example, the copyright to a Mickey Mouse cartoon restricts others from making copies of the cartoon or creating derivative works based on Disney’s particular anthropomorphic mouse, but doesn’t prohibit the creation of other works about anthropomorphic mice in general, so long as they’re different enough to not be judged copies of Disney’s. In many jurisdictions, copyright law makes exceptions to these restrictions when the work is copied for the purpose of commentary or other related uses (See Fair Use, Fair Dealing). Meanwhile, other laws may impose additional restrictions that copyright does not — such as trademarks and patents.

Copyright laws are standardized somewhat through international conventions such as the Berne Convention and Universal Copyright Convention. These multilateral treaties have been ratified by nearly all countries, and international organizations such as the European Union or World Trade Organization require their member states to comply with them.

Text in italics reprinted from (emphasis mine):

wikipedia

The IQ test… (Whilt 11)

Attention:

The original post has been deleted.

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Well, what I have done was to participate in one of those frivolous IQ tests available in an abundance on the Web, than – being over-enjoyed with the results (haven’t you known, that you are a genius, after all – now everything is clear…) then (goodness gracious…) I have put the outcome on this blog, in this very section – what have I learned today (whilt)?…

Pardon me, that was pathetic – even done for fun – and this is, what I have really learned today – that you need to be highly critical about everything what you are about to publish, that the responsibility for your text/work online should be not less stressed and imposed than your taking charge for all your activities in the ‘real life’.

I have never removed a post yet… have you? Do you consider your published posts to be ‘set in stone’ – or maybe, you would rather come back to them to verify issues once firmly stated, and – to modify/delete if needed? How about the ethics – we share/borrow/lend/use each other property crossing the boundaries which would be much more difficult to cross in the ‘real life’. Can it be named as clearly ethically ‘wrong’ or ‘ok’ – if our intentions are those of the self- and the public education and promoting the values/thoughts we believe in – all without any financial profits?

I keep pondering over these issues. I feel bad and ‘right’ at the same time illustrating my post with an image/video of an artwork, that doesn’t belong to me. What, if the artist doesn’t wishes it; yet – how to reach him/her – that would make the blogging morbidly time-consuming (I have tried, of course) and free of any fun; just completely devoid of that very characteristic intuitive spirit of improvisation, which makes writing/reading blogs so rewarding. To cease to write about and to display art? Who, on Earth, would like to be confined to his/her productions only? I would rather prefer  to enrage or to disgust all the guardians of the web-ethics…

Well, have I passed my IQ test? What is all about, after all – to label my mental ability with the number assigned by a computer after some mathematical calculations? That in itself is insulting…

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