And here what will you learn more?
The commercial makes the point that AT&T’s wireless service covers 90 percent of the country by showing orange fabric being unfurled over natural and man-made landmarks around the nation like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Las Vegas strip. (…)
some viewers have suggested may be based too closely on the work of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. (…) AT&T spokesman, Steve Schwadron, who works for the Fleishman-Hillard public relations agency, replied with this statement: “The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have had and have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with the creation of AT&T’s advertising.”
{ NY Times | Continue reading }
This AT&T spot is not appropriation; it is intellectual theft. Anyone familiar with Christo’s work understands he and Jean Claude have always demanded total control of everything associated one of their works, for two compelling reasons: First, Christo and Jean Claude believe that everything involved in one of their works is an inseparable part of the work. This includes the negotiations and planning leading up to the work’s installation, a prolonged process that often consumes many years and even decades (as was the case with Gates).
Second, to fund this process — a Christo and Jean Claude work is completely paid for by the work itself — Christo and Jean Claude create images, multiples and other things that are sold to collectors. When an advertiser or handbag maker appropriates part of a Christo and Jean Claude work, this devalues the work, blurring the distinct line between art created by an artist and commerce engaged in solely to make money. Note that the AT&T spot steals from Christo and Jean Claude’s entire career, not just Gates: Much of their work involves wrapping or covering large objects, landscapes or seascapes with fabric, which transforms them into something entirely new and fascinating. AT&T, by contrast, is merely claiming to cover most of the world with its cellphone network — hardly transformative, and by no means art.
Sadly, Jean Claude, Christo’s longtime spouse and creative partner, died recently. Of the two, she was the fiercer protector of the work they did together and its legacy. Were she alive today AT&T would be in court with its back against the wall — and that spot would be off the air and every scrap of it destroyed.
AT&T should be thoroughly ashamed of itself, as should its agency, BBDO New York, and everyone involved in this sordid affair.
