More Thoughts on the Gee’s Bend Lawsuit
A few weeks back I first wrote about the Gee’s Bend quiltmaker that filed a lawsuit against those that were promoting her art.
Since that time at least 2 other Gee’s Bend quilters have filed suits and there have been several articles on blogs and in newspapers about the events.
Here are some snippets from some of these sources.
The first from a brand new Tinwood Alliance blog from the Arnetts, who are being sued:
The Arnetts and The Collective decided years ago to promote their quilts as a community – the Quilts of Gee’s Bend. Ms. Young now seeks to promote herself over the group; she is no longer a team player.
This is an excerpt from the Alabama Press-Register:
Echoing statements made by the Arnett’s lawyers, [Louisiana] Bendolph said many quilters didn’t want anything written down about the money they were earning because they were afraid it would jeopardize their Medicaid eligibility.
Bendolph acknowledged that she has made several times more money than Annie Mae Young says she earned in the years since the Arnetts showed up on her doorstep, asking to buy quilts.
That discrepancy in earnings is at the heart of the lawsuit filed by Young, whose works are among the most reproduced of all the quilters.
Bendolph said the reason she has made so much more money than Annie Mae is because she has control of her copyrights. She said all of her income was related to a series of about 200 limited edition prints produced from quilts designed by her and her mother-in-law.
“I have the copyrights for the quilts on these prints because I didn’t sell them to the Arnetts,” Bendolph said, noting she keeps 90 percent of her earnings and gives 10 percent to the collective, instead of the usual 50/50 split.
I’m confused. How can the Arnetts claim that Ms. Young isn’t being a team player when all players aren’t being treated the same?
Was that comment supposed to make me think: How dare some little old lady stand up and ask for what she believes is rightfully hers? She should shut up and sit down and just accept what she’s given and stop making waves.
I don’t think so. Hurray for her. I don’t know all the facts and I’ve never spoken to her but I give her huge marks for asking questions. From her side things don’t look right and instead of sitting there quietly and accepting it she’s doing something about it. For that I’m behind her 100%.
We don’t need to accept everything the powers that be tell us. If it feels wrong – question it. If you don’t get answers that make sense, go to the courts. That’s what they are for, to help sort out these types of issues.
Don’t try to tell me this woman isn’t being a team player. I’m not buying it. The Arnetts look out for themselves and even have a new blog to tell their side. And so should Ms. Young and the other artists that have filed suit.
Posted by Lisa in: The Art World
I tend to think accusations of someone being “not a team player” are usually little more than rhetorical tricks to shame someone for quite reasonably looking out for their own good. I don’t know all the details either, but artists should be encouraged to ensure they are not being exploited by rights-holders who have nothing to do with the original creative enterprise.
Lisa, I appreciate that you are posting about this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know about this going on.
It also makes it so clear why it is important that communication and expectations are kept clear. I hate it when stuff gets mucky!
~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog
I agree with you 100%.