The Censorship of Collage

The Censorship of Collage


I’ve interrupted the RetroCollage Blog early on in the week to pass on an important message and make a request:



The Creation Of Flowers CENSORED (2011). Digital collage created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.




Phenomena of Incandescence CENSORED (2011). Digital collage created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.




Stars and Stripes of RetroCollage CENSORED (2011). Digital collage
created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.



The message is this:

Obviously none of these pictures are censored; I myself put the WORD
“CENSORED” across each of these pieces (I did it for the “drama” and to
make a point). And these collages have all been created using non-copyright, public domain images, or images for which I own the copyright. And our country protects our right to free expression with the First Amendment to the Constitution.

However, if new laws are passed in the United States — specifically two pieces of legislation pending in Congress — my right to do these collages, your right to see them, and your right to create and display your own creativity
on the Net, could all be curtailed or taken away completely — even if
you and I have not infringed someone else’s copyrighted property.

If you like and use Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, you may have to say goodbye to these services if the new legislation is enacted. Or you may find that your activities will
be actively monitored by the services; that you will be limited in what
you may post and write about on them; or that you will be forced to pay
compulsory licensing fees to the services, even if you don’t download or share music or visual content on them.

Unlikely as this sounds, the passage of the “Protect IP Act” (PIPA, in the Senate) and the “Stop Internet Piracy Act” (SOPA, in the House of Representatives) might turn such nightmares into reality. PIPA and SOPA will imperil free expression and freedom of information exchange on the Internet, and might ultimately lead to censorship typical of a totalitarian police state.

PIPA AND SOPA have been heavily pushed and lobbied for by the
so-called “content industry” (largely composed of corporations producing
and marketing recorded music and motion pictures), which in this case
has acted in a monolithic manner and without consulting either the
Internet “tech industry” or end users of content. And the form of censorship the content industry is pushing for may have damaging effects more widespread than censorship alone: ultimately the form of censorship the content industry is demanding can ultimately damage the security of the global Internet.

Opposition to PIPA and SOPA has now transcended the boundaries of party politics:
conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, all realize that
these measures threaten free use of and access to the Internet for
nearly everyone, regardless of party or group affiliation (the
exceptions being the corporate interests of the content industry). And
bipartisan and independent groups and citizens are now banding together to fight for freedom of speech and expression, and to oppose censorship.

The request I’m making is this:

Please join with all of us in fighting to keep the Internet free.

• Please spend a little time familiarizing yourself with the
  threats to free Internet use by reading the articles at the following
  link: http://americancensorship.org
  
• The website at the link above contains more ways to oppose
  censorship. Feel free to explore them: sign petitions, support
  organizations lobbying for Internet freedom, etc.
  
• Watch the following short video, which is an excellent
  summary in plain English of the controversy surrounding PIPA and SOPA,
  and how they will affect our freedom in particular and the Internet in
  general: http://player.vimeo.com/video/31100268?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
  
• Take the time — TODAY, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2011 — to call your
  Senators and your Representative, and tell them or their staffers that
  you oppose passage of PIPA and SOPA. It will take a few minutes of your
  time; but just consider over how much time you have benefited from the
  free use of the Internet, and you will quickly see that a few minutes to
  stand up and be counted is a small price to pay for safeguarding a
  resource of incalculable value. If you can’t call them today, please
  call them tomorrow with the same message.
  

The Internet is a vast and ever-evolving structure linking
individual human beings and groups across the world, in ways
undreamed-of two decades ago. It is vibrant, creative, almost alive. It is possibly the most magnificent collage
ever devised. But it is also fragile and needs protection in order to
continue growing freely. The Internet needs our help and support to
remain free.
Thank you very much for your support!


(All artwork, descriptions, & other text created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.)

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