So far I’ve had a few artists and designers reach out to me about how HighBall has also taken advantage of their work as well. If there’s anyone else who’d like to share any negative experience they have had with the organizers, I’m writing a follow up article on the issue. I’m happy to keep you totally anonymous but still tell your story. Looks as though not everything is what it seems. minipennycolumbus@gmail.com
CH▲PLINNN
25-year-old bombshell living in Chicago. Woody Allen's soulmate. Terrible dancer. Autodidactic. Feminist. Lover of life, cats, bikes, & thrift.
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kungfucarrie replied: Wonder if that ‘designer’ was responsible and got called out on it and is now just harassing you?
Yeah, I’d say he’s probably pretty heavily responsible. One tweet reads: Um… no one told us we could NOT use the photo, if we don’t know it’s off limits how is that stealing? He’s going back and deleting his stuff now, but he’s totally a f’king tool. As a designer, a person should always have concern when someone’s stuff is jacked, because it could happen to anyone. In retrospect, though, this guy did think it was okay to use an über-low resolution photo swiped from Flickr for a large print ad… so…. calling him a designer might bit a stretch.
So I thought the Highball Halloween issue was settled, until I realized that one of their “designers” is now harassing me via Twitter…. do they condone this too?
Mini Penny Blog: The Highball Halloween Resolution
Readers: I think that my heart was feeling quite overwhelmed yesterday when I returned home and saw the explosion of support via Twitter, Facebook, and comments. Many of you shared my post about Highball Halloween’s unauthorized usage of my image with the community and I’m beyond grateful.
When writing the article, I felt a bit like David fighting Goliath. Would the folks at Short North Arts District hear my voice? With all of you, they did, and John Angelo contacted me yesterday in hopes to resolve the distress caused by my discovery on Friday.
Of course, this issue doesn’t only concern me. It’s not only about Highball. It’s about all of us — the artists, the organizers, and the community. Yesterday proved to me that when we band together, good things happen. The process by which Highball filed and used images is now forever changed so that this will never again happen to another artist.
I met with John last night in person to discuss that matter and properly sell him the rights to use my photograph in their web and print advertising. This means that you will continue to see the ad during the next three weeks in Columbus — so if you get a mailer or see a flyer, don’t fret, as the usage rights have been mended.
John also expressed his desire to share his voice on the issue with my readers and the community and asked for me to share the following letter with you:
Dear Jess,
I want to start by saying that I am very sorry for the issues related to the use of your photo in HighBall’s promotional campaign. I am completely at fault for having missed the credit of your image. We must make 100% sure we always recognize the sources of our materials. I will also take the blame for the confusion regarding which of your images we were authorized to use and which we were not. Though I am not sure how your Dead-Circus image came to be in our collection of authorized Jessie Barber images, the issue is that our system needs to be tightened to make sure such an incident does not happen again.
We value the contribution of all our artists: Fashion Designers, Costume Designers, Makeup Artists, Photographers, Visual Artists and Performing Artists. As a fundraiser to help further the initiatives of the Short North Arts District, it is at the core of HighBall’s mission to serve as a vibrant forum to expose the innovators and creators of Columbus and to celebrate their contributions to the city’s quality of life. For this reason we bestow many stipends to help the artists bring their visions to reality, and we give special preference to our photographers at the event by reserving space with the best views and by granting access to behind the scenes subject matter.
Thank you for working with me to resolve this issue.
Sincerely,
John Angelo
I left my meeting with John last night feeling accomplished. This was a victory for everyone involved — and I started a small fire that you all helped fan. In less than 24 hours we had the attention and the ability to change something that will continue to help artists here in Columbus.
Again, I couldn’t have done this without all of you. And I may only have three weeks left as being a Columbus resident, but I can assure you that this is probably one of the best goodbyes I could have asked for — proof that I have the support of my peers and that I’ve spent the past six years in a truly amazing community. Thank you, Columbus. You’ll always have a special place in my heart.
Remember yesterday’s post about Highball Halloween stealing my image? Well, turns out they they don’t think the internet is the same as print advertising. Here’s them using my stolen image on the Short North Arts District’s website — artists stealing from artists!?
Thanks so much for all of the support, reblogs, and retweets so far. I’m not staying silent on this one.
I feel exhausted. I love sharing my work and ideas with all of the wonderful people of the internet, but when someone (especially an “arts council”) blatantly steals my work, I become hesitant to even share my photographs anywhere. le sigh.
So let me get this straight…. 250 VIP tickets at $65/ticket comes out to $16,250… yet The Official Short North HighBall Halloween still decided to STEAL my image to use in their large print advertising (a sign on High Street) and weren’t even willing to pay me for it? PLUS they charge everyone else $5 to WALK ON HIGH STREET (and I’m sure that they’re charging vendors a booth fee). Not only was the PERSONAL image taken from me without my permission, they admitted on the phone to me today that they KNOWINGLY cropped out my watermark. I was told that it wasn’t “in the spirit of Highball” for me to get paid. So what is the spirit of Highball? Artists stealing from artists? Plus they neglected to give Bob Kueppers and company credit for their amazing costumes that night. They claim that the sign is being taken down, but I still call for a BOYCOTT.
