Worldwide Calendar

Matthias Weller (Bonn): Just and Fair Solutions? – Fundamentals of a Restitution Culture for Artworks Confiscated During Nazi Persecution

The Nazi regime was obsessed with art. Hitler, Göring and others built up their own “collections” and looted works of art they were interested in from everyone and everywhere, very often from persecuted persons, especially Jews. Many persecuted persons had to leave their property behind or had to sell it under duress. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of artworks in Europe were looted. Despite efforts for restitution after the war, up to an estimated 100.000 objects had remained in the hands of others than the original owners or their heirs. On 3 December 1998, 44 States, including the Federal Republic of Germany, agreed on the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art. These principles are soft law, and they call on the participating states to identify works of art that were confiscated by the Nazi regime and to find “just and fair solutions” for them. In five of the 44 states, commissions such as the German Advisory Commission on the return of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution, especially Jewish property (“Beratende Kommission im Zusammenhang mit der Rückgabe NS-verfolgungsbedingt entzogenen Kulturguts, insbesondere aus jüdischem Besitz”) were established. Since 1998, thousands of recommendations and decisions on just and fair solutions were issued. Nevertheless, the entire process has remained strongly controversial. It is the thesis of the presentation that certain fundamentals are neglected in this process – fundamentals that must be observed in order to generate chances for “justice” and thus reconciliation. These fundamentals may form a basis of a “restitution culture” for artworks confiscated during Nazi persecution.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller

Zoom Link: https://uni-bonn.zoom.us/j/97296735698?pwd=OG9iWFlmelorK0dPdHdDQ2lhR0RaQT09
Meeting-ID: 972 9673 5698
Password: 216751

DAY 1: Pay no attention to the information behind the curtain: due diligence and how to prevent art disputes. 

https://www.ibanet.org/Art-disputes-and-how-to-avoid-them.aspx

The rise of digital collections and virtual reality exhibits is an exciting new art frontier that brings with it many legal and business implications for collectors and art law attorneys. What questions should collectors consider when acquiring art for physical and digital collections? What legal and business issues are relevant for collectors and private museums that are digitizing their physical collections? What role does intellectual property law play and what types of contract provisions might be relevant for virtual reality exhibitions and digital video installations?

Join us for an art law program with Sylvain Levy, French art collector and co-founder of the DSL Collection Virtual Reality Museum (the first of its kind), and Katharina Garbers-von Boehm, a German art law attorney with expertise in intellectual property law and the intersection of technology-related issues. The panelists will discuss legal implications and business considerations for those interested in the creation of digital collections, the digitization of physical art, and virtual reality experiences. The panel will be moderated by Irina Tarsis, Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Art Law.

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Business and legal considerations for multidisciplinary artists with Signe Pierce, Anibal Luque, and Irina Taris.

Trademarks, copyrights, business formation, branding… As entrepreneurs, artists have a lot to think about and it can easily be overwhelming, especially when engaging in multiple practices. The law provides protection to some extent and artists are expected to navigate it carefully while pushing the boundaries of a sometimes rigid legal framework.

Join us for a conversation about business and legal considerations for multidisciplinary artists with “artepreneur” Signe Pierce and creative attorney Anibal Luque, moderated by Center for Art Law’s Founding Director Irina Tarsis.

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Provenance -- the history of ownership -- is important for verifying the attribution/authenticity of an artwork and also for determining legal title in the case of ownership and restitution disputes. Please join us as six distinguished speakers address provenance from a variety of vantage points, including catalogues raisonnés, scientific evidence, digital resources, and the law. The program is timed to coincide with the U.S. launch of the book Provenance Research Today, edited by Arthur Tompkins and co-published by Lund Humphries and IFAR. Three of the speakers contributed to the book.

SPEAKERS:

• LYNN H. NICHOLAS, Author, The Rape of Europa
• MARC MASUROVSKY, Co-founder, Holocaust Art Restitution Project (HARP); Academic Director, Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project (JDCRP)
• THOMAS R. KLINE, Partner, Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC
• JENNIFER MASS, President, Scientific Analysis of Fine Art, LLC; Mellon Professor, Bard Graduate Center
• LISA DUFFY-ZEBALLOS, Art Research Director, IFAR
• SHARON FLESCHER, Executive Director, IFAR

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A conversation on how public art is created, selected, and protected in New York City and across the United States.

Public art holds a special position and power in the world. Whether found in a park, a city square, or any other place where people pass and gather everyday, public works of art connect with communities in many powerful and direct ways. Its unique nature brings with it singular legal and practical challenges that are more prominent than ever today.

To that end, join the Center for Art Law for the next Art Law Lunch Talk: Heavy-Lifting in Public Art. Sarah C. Odenkirk, Attorney and head of the Art law Practice at Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams, & Sheppard LLP (CA), and Kenseth Armstead, accomplished conceptual artist and member of the New York City Public Design Commission, will lead a discussion on public art, how artists and communities work and interact to have it made, and the legal landscape around them. The panel will be moderated by Irina Tarsis, Founder and Managing Director of the Center for Art Law.

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DAY 2: Can we do better than pistols at dawn? Resolving art disputes through mediation and arbitration.

https://www.ibanet.org/Art-disputes-and-how-to-avoid-them.aspx