Stolen Scream:The Face of Noam Galai
Having Richard Prince steal, or rather appropriate your photos into his own "artwork" is one thing, but having the whole world copy, edit, share and even sell your original photograph is another thing. It can be both flattering and frustrating, especially if you happen to be a budding photographer. A perfect example to illustrate this case is the photographer Noam Galai and his Stolen Scream.
Basically, Mr. Galai took a few pictures of himself and uploaded them to Flickr (you can find his original uploads here). After awhile, he noticed that his photo was being used not only in his locality, but all around the world. From book covers to posters to graffiti and street art to websites that sell artwork, his face started to pop-up all around the world.
In this case, his stolen scream dealt him a double blow: not only was he not credited as the original photographer, he also never earned from these random and international uses of his work. Even the website that sold his image as prints ignored his communications (that's according to his video, the situation might have changed as of this post).
Fortunately, his Stolen Scream website has attracted some attention to his cause, and it's even helping him earn back through the merchandise he sells there. It's great that a photographer like Noam Galai can create something positive from his stolen scream, but his case just goes to show you that in today's digital world, a simple photo upload could lead to a lot more than a few random comments.
that's pretty lame, glad he's at least getting something out of the photo
ReplyDeleteGood to see that Noam isn't taking this lying down and is fighting for what's deservedly his.
ReplyDeleteWhat gives with people just stealing other artists' work and thinking it's justifiable?
Wow, that is crazy and while flattering I do see why it would be so annoying to see people profiting from his shot. At least he is getting more recognition and hopefully his career takes off even more. This is a cool shot and clearly many other companies thought so too
ReplyDeleteNice post
Dale :)
Yep. Screw Flickr.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see he's getting some of the money, his image has been used world wide
ReplyDeleteAs long as it isnt being used for commercial purposes I woun´nt mind
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of a dick mov of people to make money off of other people's works by editing it to a small degree. At least give the man his credit!
ReplyDeleteI heard the picture that is on all the Che Guevera merch is also a "stolen" photograph, the original guy having almost never been credited
ReplyDeleteI guess there is no such thing as an "original artist" or even "original ideas!"
ReplyDeleteWow, good turnaround for Noam Galai. He basically launched his notoriety off of other people's marketing. ^^
ReplyDeleteyeah, whats new eh?
ReplyDeletegreat post
ReplyDeletebrb stealing this idea
ReplyDeleteEven though the photographer did not benefit as much as he should financially, at least he is getting some publicity out of it.
ReplyDeletefantastic photo. shame its been butchered on terrible flyers!
ReplyDeleteI love it! It very pop art like! Reminds me of a Kuwaiti artists work Aziz Al Mudhaf
ReplyDeleteSounds like he needs a lawyer to send off cease and desist letters.
ReplyDeletei cant believe how many people took it
ReplyDeleteAt least he is benefiting someway!
ReplyDeleteThat sucks. He kind of looks like Steve-O.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks. Seems like he'd have a good copyright case if he went that route.
ReplyDeleteeverything is a remix.
ReplyDeletei would be pretty pissed if someone took my work and made money off it though
The original photo is million time better than all those manipulative works.
ReplyDeleteWatermarks and trademarks, that's all.
ReplyDeletelol@Banacek
ReplyDeleteNow I can't unsee that.
thats not much of a face...
ReplyDelete