Stop Ripping Art That Isn’t Yours.
The person responsible for the mural in this painting is MALT, an artist from Detroit who does beautiful paintings around town and abroad. I recognized this picture because the irl version is located at an art park not far from me (scroll down to the last picture), and his style is recognizable just about anywhere.
I am not the first Detroiter to be active in the grid. Detroit Techno Militia was here once too. I’ve seen Niagara‘s work for sale at Tart Gallery, I’ve seen tons of great art in galleries that said they were used with permission, but I always had a funny feeling about it. Something was always off.
So when I recognize a fellow painter’s work in the game, especially if they’re a local artist, I contact the artist to let them know what’s going on. Sometimes they have actually given permission to have their work for sale or used in the grid, but many times they don’t even know their work is being used at all.
This practice is especially troubling when it comes to to hi-res photos like the one in the picture. I can tell it’s of a good quality. Whoever uploaded the texture either took a picture of this themselves, or ripped off a hi-resolution photo of the mural.
Many people still don’t understand this rule about art in Second Life, so let’s be clear:
YOU CAN’T UPLOAD ART/TEXTURES TO THE GRID WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE PERMISSION TO.
- You can’t just “take art” from Google searches and use them on tshirts and clothing.
- You can’t use Disney movies on mesh versions of a VHS tape for c88 because you think it’s quirky and cute and that Disney has “enough money”.
- You can’t upload books you didn’t author that aren’t public domain because “you think all creative work should be open source”.
- You can’t demand to be talked to privately about this in order to prevent a public discussion. Get over yourself.
The sim this belongs to is filled with art that is both corporate (I saw an ad for Levi’s on the other side of the wall in the photo), and from other art that is so varied, it couldn’t possibly be all sourced with permission. I won’t link to them because it would encourage visits or possibly even hate–but I have contacted the muralist to tell him where his art is being used.
It’s not snitching, it’s what happens when other artists are tired of seeing work abused in Second Life and want it to stop. The grid should be a place to foster creativity and inspire others, not to deposit work you’ve taken from others.
