Podcast
Episode 1: What is “Fake Art”?
Before that, we need to get through a few basic concepts that will help us understand the gist of the article.
In the movie Gangs of Wasseypur ll (2012), the character played by Huma Qureshi asks the character of Nawazuddin Siddiqui when he touches her hand – Permission leni chahiya na. (He should have taken permission before his act!). A scared Siddiqui replies that he felt it was okay to do it (as he took her for granted). Some might called it non-consensual and the same applies to fake art. Without permission, usage of the intellectual property of a person for your own purpose is unethical. I would term it as ‘Stealing’ and those who encourage such illegal activity can be called ‘thugs of aesthetics’.
Most of us are unaware about IP and copyrights. Due to this reason, we tend to neglect the sole right of any creative work of the artist. We cannot change the past, but by teaching the current generation in schools and colleges about IP/copyright/trademark in all fields of study and most importantly teaching them to respect the creative rights of the individual.
Now, the question arises,
What is Fake Art?
For me, fake art means illegal reproduction of the intellectual work in any form without the permission of the creator i.e. the artist (dead or alive, famous or emerging). It is a clear exploitation of moral, financial and legal rights of the artist.
What exactly does it mean in a simple language?
- The illegal business of stealing a creative persons’ moral and legal right.
- Stealing someone’s decades of hard work, passion and commitment.
- Ruin someone’s newly started career and never letting him grow financially and creatively.
- Creating tasteless visual aesthetics and negative vibration in people’s home and offices.
- Damaging the value of Indian art and aesthetics on global scale.
Photos and Text © Chaitya Dhanvi Shah