FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Fresno artist says the Big Fresno Fair’s decision to disqualify one of his art pieces for alleged copyright infringement without checking, before competition judges were able to see it, will be the last time he will submit his work to the event.
“I don’t think I would enter next year,” said Fresno artist Ma Ly.
Ly’s portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris was submitted to the Big Fresno Fair’s annual art competition and was initially accepted. Ly says one of his students told him later on that organizers had removed his painting from display after it was flagged for copyright.
Ma Ly says organizers made no effort to contact him, prompting the artist to go to the fair himself to find out why his painting had been taken down.
“They asked if I had copied a picture,” Ly says. “I told them I did not, it was a combination of several pictures from the internet like most artists do.”
Ly says he spoke with the Superintendent of the Fine Arts Department and she told him that she “had no idea what happened.”
According to Ly, his painting was taken down before it could be seen by the fair’s judges. When he asked the Superintendent if the decision could be reversed, he says she told him the judge’s decision was final.
Though his painting was finally allowed to be displayed among others at the event, Ly did not have the opportunity to take part in the fine arts competition as he had in previous years. Once public attention was brought to Ly’s situation, he says the Big Fresno Fair apologized for their mistake in a meeting with him but gave him only “half-truths and not the whole story.”
Ly says some of the fair’s staff told him another well-known local artist flagged the painting.
“I don’t know the artist’s opinion about politics,” Ly said. “[But] I think the fair doesn’t want to recognize that it was a political decision.”
Ly says he was wrongly accused of copyright infringement without substantial proof, but he may have also been targeted due to Kamala Harris being the subject of the painting.
“The idea is always to unite, not divide the community,” Ly said. “I [have] judged many local shows – as a judge or staff member I would have argued to display a portrait of Donald Trump, judging it for its artistic quality, not my political beliefs.”
In response the fair offered a statement saying in part;
The fair reviewed the situation and determined that the Fine Arts volunteer committee misinterpreted entry guidelines for his submission. The Fair apologized to Mr. Ly directly. During our in-person meeting, there was great dialogue with Mr. Ly on the importance of the Fine Arts & Photography building to the arts community and the Fair invited him to provide his expertise [and] input on how to improve this exhibit building – both with guiding judges and helping secure an experienced Superintendent to ensure this exhibit building continues into the future and thrives.
Big Fresno Fair’s Interim CEO, Christina Estrada
Representatives from the Big Fresno Fair have also added that the decision to disqualify the portrait of Kamala Harris was not politically motivated.
Ly says the entire situation could have been avoided if the fair had exhibited, “common sense” and “better communication.”
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