Art: Law: New Media: free public talks at Hastings Law School

Hastings Law School, in collaboration with the San Francisco City Arts Commission, along with visiting professor Sonia K. Katyal, invite you to an exciting new lecture series on art, law, and politics. Inspired by the San Francisco art world and the rise of new media, the Law School has asked a variety of award winning emerging and established artists to share their perspectives on the role of art, the law, new media, and the public and private domain. Each talk features a different topic and is designed to facilitate a collaborative dialogue between the artists, members of the public, and the community on the role of art in law – or vice versa.

The lectures are open to the public, although RSVP is required. To attend, as seating is limited, please contact Roslyn Foy at foyr@uchastings.edu, and specify the date you plan to attend, your name, and the number of participants.

This talk explores the dynamics of cultural fusion and appropriation, and how - or if - the law should play a role in fostering artistic expression.  One artist is a master at fusing contemporary images from hip hop with the mythology and folklore from traditional Iranian heritage; another artist plays off of the concept of luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, and a third carefully remixes established brands in new contexts, challenging our imagination. All of these talented artists, in their own way, comment on the social forces that operate in favor of consumerism and globalization. Does the law and the role of appropriation and 'counterfeit' creativity challenge the public to rethink our commitment to icons?  How do intellectual property laws-trademark, copyright-address the value that is created by artistic speech, and do these laws inhabit or encourage innovation and creativity? How does branding-and anti-branding-play a role in encouraging us to remix modern expressions and images?

Speakers

Ryan Alexiev explores the ramifications and effects of consumerism, globalization, and the ethos of technological progress upon traditional social-cultural values and symbols. As an artist, Ryan had his first solo show in 2003 at the Orchidea Gallery of the Sofia Cultural Center in Bulgaria, his parent's native country. Subsequently, he has exhibited at galleries across the country including the The Moore Space in Miami, Wadsworth Atheneum, The University of Arkansas, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Ryan is the co-founder of the ©ause Collective which was recently commissioned to create the video installation Along the Way for the Oakland International Airport. This project was also featured at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Another project recently completed by the ©ause Collective was a public art installation for the University of California, San Francisco titled "The Truth I Am You."  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994 and an MFA from the California College of the Arts in 2007.

Libby Black was born in Toledo, Ohio. She received a BFA in Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1999 and an MFA in Painting from the California College of the Arts in 2001.  She explains, "My work deals with issues of class and expectations of perfection.  With Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and other purveyors of luxury as my inspiration, I explore the outward appearance of the good life by extracting and recreating status symbols and high-end consumer goods."  Her work has been  exhibited at Yerba Beuna Center for the Arts (San Francisco), Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach), Jersey City Museum (Jersey City), and numerous galleries in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Libby has been an artist in residence at Headlands Center for the Arts and Montalvo Arts Center. Libby has been reviewed in Artforum, Art in America, ARTnews, Zink Magazine, Flash Art, and The New York Times. Libby is represented by Marx and Zavatterro (formally Heather Marx Gallery) in San Francisco.

Born in the United States to Iranian parents, Ala Ebtekar was raised in both Iran and the US. As a young teenager he joined the K.O.S. (Kids of Survival), working with artist Tim Rollins on collaborative artworks involving groups of urban youth. He received his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute and in 2006 his MFA degree at Stanford. He was a 2005 recipient of the San Francisco Foundation¹s Murphy & Cadogan Fellowships in the Arts Award. His work is exhibited internationally and was recently featured in two prestigious exhibitions: One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now, a touring exhibition originating at the Asia Society, NYC, and in the 2006 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art. In 2007, his work was featured in a solo exhibition at Gallery Paule Anglim in San Francisco, and in Under the Indigo Dome at The Third Line in Dubai. In 2007 Ebtekar participated in a six month residency with Cite des Arts in Paris. This past year Ebtekar was featured in Bay Area Now 5, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. He is a visiting lecturer at UC Berkeley and Stanford University.