Qing Ming and Tomb Sweeping

 

Traditionally the Qing Ming  falls on the first week of April and Chinese will go back to attend this Tomb Sweeping Day every year.

The Chinese elderly parents will want the qing ming or  tomb sweeping Day to continue..to give an opportunity for the younger generations to meet and learn to respect the ancestors of this traditional culture.

Three months ago, the permission to remodify the tombs of my ancestors  was granted after consultation with a medium. An auspicious day was chosen and all family members are required to attend the ceremony.  

It was for a good  reason that  when  family members  come back to  pay their respects during the qing ming festival, the tombs being restored would prove that the dead are not forgotten by their filial descendants.

Under the medium’s guidance  the ceremony started with the digging of the graves to collect the ancestors bones with much care every tiny piece of bones and the skull of the dead were unearthed and placed into an urn arranged according to position and reburied into the same graves.

Another date was set for all members of the family to attend to witness the new tombs with the medium performing a ceremonial ritual..

Now the qing ming festival is near and all our family members have decided to return to our home near Ipoh on this coming Sunday and we will gather again. Our deceased grandmother’s soul would be pleased to have the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren gathered at the new tombs -rebuild after almost 50 years.

Related article: Qing Ming festival is a time to get together

Shepard Fairey Sues AP Over Obama Poster Dispute!

Fairey says the Associated Press image at left, by Mannie Garcia, was the basis for his Obama poster illustration, but that its use falls under the Fair Use Provision.

Now Shepard Fairey wants to sue AP Over Obama Poster Dispute.

Shortly after the AP accused Shephard Fairey, the artist behind the famous Obama poster, of infringing copyright, Fairey struck back, filed the suit February 9 in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

The new development caught many a surprise and it’s interesting to read. and I would like to post some of the  comments from PDN here.

Joel – Los Angeles / February 12, 2009
Fairey is a vandal, a tagger, and a thief, and IMHO an infringer. Fairey was arrested a few days ago, yet again, for tagging in Boston. Fairey has boasted that he’s been arrested “over 14 times” for tagging and other vandalism, much of it involving stenciling or posting his own “art” on private and public property. In addition to other arrests. Fairey knew that he could have used any of thousands of photos in the public domain, including those offered on Hussein Obama’s own website. Many are indistinguishable from the infringed (cropped) AP image. Perhaps Fairey is incapable of grasping the concept of honesty, or respecting other people’s rights. Fairey is, though, a pretty accomplished hypocrite. Having created his posters through infringement, he has already threatened people who were trying to sell derivative copies of the poster on their own.

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Posted by: B Finger | February 05, 2009 at 02:41 PM

I think Fairey has a pretty strong case for “fair use” here. His art work uses and is in part a commentary about popular culture and popular cultural imagery. It was originally produced to be “street art” where profit was not the original motive. It was only when Obama supporters discovered a posting of the artwork (posted by Fairey as a freebie in support of Obama, I believe) on the internet and printed out copies for themselves, did it take off as a popular image. Even though his painting and subsequent posters were based upon the AP photo it could never be mistaken for it and would never be in competition with it in the market place.

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Posted by: David | February 12, 2009 at 01:21 PM

Regarding Carl’s lengthy February 10 attempt at analyzing copyright law, “I find the Fairey case fascinating, as I have studied copyright law quite a bit.” Please, Carl, remember the old adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

I am a copyright attorney in Chicago and former photographer. Let me first comment that you appear to be mixing the legal definition of “original” as used in copyright law and as used in an artistic sense. It’s easy to do, but it makes your argument confusing. Continue reading comments of Carl and David about the lawsuit from PDN

Related article: “Hope” Obama poster-Does the AP have a case? Infringement or fair use?

“Hope” Obama poster-Does the AP have a case? Infringement or fair use?

This ” HOPE” poster of Barack Obama was used to campaign and became very popular during the last year’s U.S presidential election. The poster was created by artist Shepard Fairey and the photo was taken by the Associate Press photographer Mannie Garcia.

Now the AP is claiming the copyright from the author because the created poster was based on AP’s photo and entitled for compensation according the PDN reports.

The accused, Shepard Fairey, claims fair use through his attorney. But AP is claiming infringement. Mannie Garcia who shot the image doesn’t want to fight Shepard Fairey over the Obama poster.

The interesting thing is who has the right over the copyright of the photo? The photo was taken on 2006 by Mannie Garcia but the photographer now is no longer with the AP. Garcia also questions whether the AP even owns the copyright to the photo. He says that he was not on the AP staff at the time the photo was taken, and never signed the AP’s freelancer agreement.

What do you say. Does the AP have a case? Infringement or fair use?