Value of giclee prints

Hi, I do not know if you still monitor these boards. Sorayama (the Japanese artist ---www.sorayama.net ) is in need of information that perhaps you know. It is regarding an art fraud case as reported in the LA Times ( Sorayama vs Bane). It seems to have things in common with your posts. Do you know when and what court/county Earle had his lawsuit ? Do you know if Luongo also had this type of litigation or was Luongo just a dispute? It is for presentation to the federal judges regarding problems with same publisher. ----Sorayama's agent---

Lightwizard still checks in from time to time. I'll pm him about your post.

Luongo was certainly a dispute, and this is, of course, gossip -- he was caught sleeping with Robert Bane's wife and shortly after, they parted company. The art business is just as "Peyton Place" as the movie business, or the TV business or any of those entertainments! They just love entertainment, decadent or otherwise.

I do not know in what court Earle lost his case to Bane, and Earle was so adverse with the judge that it was easy to merely enforce the original contract and Earle lost the case. Legal advice has to come from an attorney but whatever fraud is alleged, it's likely true but hard to prove. Bane is a slick customer and artists are lousy business people , and, unfortunately, get suckered into signing contracts where they don't read the fine print and do not give it to their attorney to look at. Of course, there's been several artists who bilked the public big time on their own and don't seem to possess even the moral and ethics of a politician. I won't mention any names, but if by telepathy this gets transmitted, Thomas Kinkaid (the most notorious rip-off hack artist of all times). That's not to say there aren't honest people in the art business but they are constantly plagued by the fact that too much of the public knows nothing about art and can be sold anything. It's too bad the artists aren't smarter, but they seldom are.

It's a tough business and I suggest a suit of armor.

Hi Lightwizard,

I had not looked back onto the posts for some time. I just saw yours months later. Thank you for your insights. Since writing I have found some answers just recently.

Slick customer is a very generous description about what is going on. In the BK court, despite massive evidence by three forensic reports and dozens of knowing omissions of assets, his attorneys have somehow influenced the court officers as far as we can tell. In this venue one fo the many things is now thousands of contraband and or counterfeits---very slick indeed. The BK court does not want to see the non-civil aspects of what is going on with the fraud.

Kindly let the artist know if you know any good artist pro bono attorneys----there are some rewards on this case. We do not want to get in same position as the other artists.

Digitall1

I have not been in contact with any attorneys in the past decade regarding artist's cases. The first step would be to search on the Internet in the artist's area and E mail them regarding the case. So many art dealers have slithered out of contracts even when there were fraud charges attached. Most artists won't go for criminal proceedings but for civil when there's more of a chance of recovering loses due to creative bookkeeping, including hidden sets of books.

Hi Lightwizard,
Thanks to you I spoke to artists who have their legal problems with this very same gallery / publisher. They gave lots of insights about the use of attorneys to hide the IP abuse ring of these industry insiders. BTW the court outcome a $2.3 million dollar judgement first was publihed in the LA Times in 2007 and later in Dunn and Bradstreet online. BK is sidetracking it but has yielded marshal seizing some assets which are now being liquidated----a first success of its kind against this debtor. We think progress will be better but may need input expertise for our small attorney who is now accepting it from us as before his ego got i the way---something personal we think with the other attorney side of matters which he had Ponzi scheme lasting 5 years in BK.

I am curious. You sound like you know both art and the law very well in that area of LA. Our artist's success is slow but moving with barriers of the huge legal staffs. We uncovered a huge stash of contraband--like a factory to abuse artist IP rights for posters and ltd editions. The case can go to criminal now because of events of late particularly these past few years in the BK court. Our artist has great standing --unlike what you mentioned about Earle--- in the court. He is in MOMA and Smithsonian Institute Museum permanent collections. His command of the English language is not there as he speaks Japanese. The highest governmental award was conferred upon him for design aspect of the Sony AIBO---first pet artificial intelligent pet.

If you have any insights about a BK or artist right expert for this BK appeals and appeal situation, let us know. Thank you again as the artist you named are helping us a lot. We prefer to settle but looks like we are being forced to conclude it by bring forth the criminal charges aspect as well.

For some of these art publishers, a civil suit can be almost fruitless as they have no money to pay for settlements and they are clever in hiding it, like offshore banks.

(Get my drift?)

yep

the "drift" they saw and id'd from specific overseas associate gallerys hiding the monies.....in this peculiar BK venue the debtors influential attorney simply called it an "oversight"...it was clear commingle and from a source that they can recover funds.....so yes overseas flight but it is the court that must come up to speed now that they also see thousands of contraband right here.....everyone blames overseas / offshore when all know it does not just go there, it is taken offshore or helped by professionals here......used to be bags on plances ....now its simply emails and websites----easier to track---easier to refund to creditors...

i.e. transfers of monies and assets were sent to gallery owners personal accounts but were simply called "oversights" AND for now that is the court's peculiar view until the forensics are read......3 reports including trustees report shows it....court wants to wait.....maybe trustee hopes for civil settlement in what is appearing to be criminal in nature as each day ticks by

What you are writing about is the long overdue exposure of an Art Mafia -- whether the FBI is again caught sleeping or cannot get foreign galleries for at least international illegal "enabling," is a story to unfold. I tried to stay away as far as possible from this part of what is mostly the garbage art market that has mostly fallen under the scope of the authorities. It's taking advantage of a poorly educated public -- there is ownership that would-be "art collectors" do not want to know is worthless and their pride is always going to remain one of the 7 deadly sins, in this case they are sinning against themselves. Just enjoy the art as a decoration and forget that it cost as much as the sofa. The sofa depreciated too, unless is a verifiable antique or an authentic modern design landmark like an authentic vintage Eames or Barcelona chair. American values have been screwed up ever since capitalism took its grip on democracy and time-and-again we've seen it nearly destroy our society because our government has lost control. Right wingers will simply say caveat emptor, but what is ironically hysterical is they are the prime victim.

thank you for your insights....!!

we go to BK court again this week

Just don't forget in the future to get a credit report on a publisher who is trying to contract an artist, or a gallery that is adding work to a consigned inventory. It's never been of a more risky business.

Remember, also, that art and business has always been strange bedfellows. No one can change that -- there are a few respected art dealers in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other metropolises but they are mostly showing and dealing with museum quality art. The commercial art market (also known as "mall art") is the one in shambles, selling images like groupings of wine bottles painted in the realistic style of advertising art (the reason being, all that is done on computers now).

We and the artist want to thank you for your insights. It seems to have helped today in court. A BK appeal, with a brilliant attorney a bit more educated about art, has told us the three judge panel decided in favor of the artist and a problem for the fraudster abusing the artist. We will learn more when he contacts us further.

We do notice how this publisher has similar pieces in different colors. We have joked about it--thinking h just told artist to do it---but like you say its even easier to use the computer and have the artist (who is willing to commit such a sham) simply sign off on it allowing the publisher partner to sell it at inflated prices to an uninformed buyer. It almost feels like we met you at one of the art shows in 2009 to discuss this matter. You know the market well.

There is also the sizing and views: extra large, large, small extra small, side view, front view, butt view, white dress, black dress.....

I haven't been to the Art EXPO or any of the commercial trade shows since the mid 1990's and before that worked for Martin Lawrence and they really didn't like the idea of the gallery directors, let alone the sales people, going to trade shows. They were as suspicious as Hell. I don't know if I mentioned it or if you remember that we parted company when I was at the Facist Island gallery after they closed the Lido Marina Village gallery and it was over the "co-director" thinking she discovered that I was colluding with Mark King on his court case against the company. Of course, it was partially true as he and his wife had become personal friends (as well as Yamagata), and they asked me for a current inventory of his artwork as they suspected it was being rigged (which it was) in paying the artist. That director was fired shortly thereafter because she had no actual proof, just hearsay. I did get a call a few years back from Wentworth Galleries to work for them. I was essentially retired from my lighting business and gallery, so because they were only twenty minutes from my house, I went to work for them. Nothing had changed. All the people I worked with there have left them and they have closed in California. There only business was really in Alexandra Nekita and Peter Max shows, the rest was really bad decorative art they bought cheaply, mostly in Europe. The director in La Jolla is now a director of an independent gallery there and is still a good friend. They show a higher class of original art and nothing from any commercial art publishers like Bane.

There are clones of clones in the commercial art gallery business and that's nothing new. Yamagata was basically Michel Delacroix strongly influenced by more modern pop art. When he refused to resign a contract and went to court, it was the beginning of the end for MLG.

We know all the names and the businesses as you describe. We have met to my knowledge but I cannot recall. I could tell you knew more about the Expo shows than ourselves or our Japanese artist. Connecting the dots you describe it all makes sense now MLG -Chaulk &Verm- Feuer-Bane Gallery all together as part of a recipe. And a list of artists like you describe including Yamagata, Earle, McKnight, Luongo all having similar issues to deal with by a common group (a block of firms working closely irregularly togeth0r). All ending up in litigations----seems like vexatious / controlling / abusive of the artist rights as well as the public good as to the buying aspect.

So perhaps this case we have worked on was the beginning of the end for this "black haired huckster". Your suggestion to speak to these artists is turning out to be one amazing experience of this ongoing case. The stories are incredible and "creepy" in the words of one artist. We are learning they (the artists) have the LA Times article of our case pinned to their gallery walls for some years now as a form of artist vindication. Little do they know, it is not completely over and we hope for their support in this area confronting these bullies in appeals. We did not know the artists were watching and maybe this time the courts too.