ArtBeat Mash Forum: Thur., July 14th

The forum will begin with a short presentation of different “mashups” and segue into a panel discussion about the philosophical, legal and aesthetic issues concerning mashups and sampling. We’ll finish with an audience Q & A session.

In the strictest sense, a “mashup” is the conflation of two or more songs. Perhaps the most famous recent example of this is DJ Dangermouse’s Grey Album, a collection of sonic collages that blend songs from the Beatles White Album with songs from Jay-Z’s Black Album. Though “mashups” are a relatively new trend in music, the concept of sampling, quoting and mixing in the art world is hardly anything new. The forum will explore questions like: What constitutes an original work of art? And should copyright laws protect the rights of an “original” artist or should there be a “cultural commons” that allows artists to freely borrow elements from existing artworks? We will kick off the forum with demos by photographer Gary Duehr, DJ C (Jake Trussell) and filmmaker Jeff Silva, who will present and briefly discuss their work. This trio will also be on our panel.

About the Panelists
Gary Duehr has shown work at Gallery Kayafas and the Judi Rotenberg Gallery. He is codirector of Invisible Cities and has written for Art on Paper, Communication Arts and Frieze.

Peter Gilbert loves to write acoustic and electronic music and likes to teach what he discovers along the way. He is currently working on his dissertation at Harvard.

Ellen Rauch is the head librarian of the Somerville Public Library and a “fair use” advocate.

Jeff Silva is a Somerville-based filmmaker and co-director of the Balagan Film series.

Marcus Stern is Associate Director of the American Repertory Theatre and the A.R.T./ MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training.

Jake Trussell is a DJ who performs solo as either DJ C (solo), Beat performed internationally and has a record label called Mashit.

David Turner teaches free software licensing for the Free Software Foundation and works to overcome liscensing roadblocks.