February 21, 1998

CONTENTS:

- Steve Keller's Speech

- query: Information pertaining to cost-effective ways of securing paintings and decorative arts.

- MAP THEFT INFO

- Objection rejected: Schiele paintings remain confiscated

- re: query: Information pertaining to cost-effective ways of securing paintings and decorative arts

- Finding the Lost Art

- Rauschenberg art to be sold; Creditors set auction date; museums plan to go to court to get works back.

- Art talks on again, Youngworth claims (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum)

- Irvine accused of looting Scottish art

- RBMS Security Committee Intern

- Query re: Museum Security Certification in U.S.

- Russia-Museum Fire (Historical Museum on Red Square)

- Mutilated Library Books

- Hang him higher (Rauschenberg)

- Survey (system specifically designed for cultural protection applications)

- art theft alert

- re: Survey (system specifically designed for cultural protection applications)

- N.Y.C. Parks Depart. threatens arrests at 2/24 demo

Steve Keller's Speech:

query: Information pertaining to cost-effective ways of securing paintings and decorative arts.

Any information pertaining to cost-effective ways of securing the paintings and decorative arts of the Blatz Collection to the walls, as unobtrusively as possible, would be greatly appreciated. Some of the works are of the small 'Tyrolian' type, and we at the Pabst Mansion/museum are concerned about them being taken off the walls, since we have a small volunteer staff that mostly offers docent-assisted, self-guided tours. Also, the Pabst Mansion has a big inventory of Cyril Colnik's world famous decorative wrought iron, so we would like to investigate the possibility of embellishing our indoor security systems (i.e. motion detectors- besides the perimeter systems already in place to secure the doors and windows- heat sensitive, or infra-red laser system(s). The crux of the biscuit is that we are surviving on a non-profit basis, so the budget isn't very big for this type of project. Any help your organization may provide us with would be greatly appreciated. We would provide you with more information if necessary to help us meet our goals, and also would be happy to form a regular correspondence on the status of any security options that are suggested by your organization that the Board of Directors would subsequently approve. Thank you for providing institutions like ours with this quick web reference to an important issue.
John Kurth

MAP THEFT INFO

Objection rejected: Schiele paintings remain confiscated

New York/Wien - Both by public prosecutor Robert Morgenthau seized Schiele paintings "Dead City III" and "Bildnis Wally" from the collection Leopold will remain further in New York. Morgenthau gave negative response on Friday at the New York supreme Court to the objection, which was raised from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) against the seizure.

At the beginning of January Morgenthau had the seizure of the two pictures carried through under the suspicion, it is thief property, after Henry Bondi respectively Kathleen and Rita Reif laid claim on it. . The public prosecutor still sticks to the formal correctness of the seizure, since the justified suspicion still exists, " that in the consequence of the German occupation of Austria in March 1938 an Nazi agent or Kollaborateur the paintings had been stolen from the owners ". Morgenthau regards it also at present still as hasty " to discuss details of the history of the pictures. The jury will become evidence about the ownership structure between 1938 and 1998. His argumentation against the objection is based almost exclusively upon formal aspects. The MoMA appointed itself to an offending of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law since it protects loans from seizure. But according to Morgenthau this law states as a condition that the exhibition did not "become to the purpose executed, that a (foreign) exhibitor makes profit of it. " The fact that the Stiftung Leopold actually drew no gain from the MoMA -Show was not proven by the museum. Morgenthau is not in favour of the suggestion of the museum to return the Schiele paintings to Austria until a final clarifying of the ownership structure has taken place and to keep instead of it reproductions. It would be to " absurdly" to permit to someone to bring " possibly stolen properties " outside of the State of New York. . The MoMA will deliver a statement probably until Friday of this week about Morgenthaus persisting in the seizing. The Leopold-Stiftung explained to the STANDARD, that this reaction Morgenthaus had been expected. They tried everything to clarify the ownership structure of the pictures. The researches are finished now. The Leopold-Stiftung thinks that they are confirmed by their researches as the legal owners of the paintings. Now it is only left to wait for the decision of the court at the 5.Maerz (talk)
© 1998 DER STANDARD

MICOT(R) Micro-Component-Tracer is a color-coded micro particle (sizes >15 um) for authentication and identification of art objects against counterfeit, theft, forgery, etc. The particles are sprayed or brushed on the substrate. Our MICOT(R) Tracer- Fiber stitched into a woven product is not visible and does not alter the original. Any valuable art object you own should be authenticated with your code combination. This process should be recorded on video and a sample of this code would be kept on a master card in your safe. No fake art objects have any chance to be auctioned or sold anymore if authenticated with the owner's code combination. The simple use of a UV light will identify the color code by reflection and a pocket microscope (>100x) allows you to read the code
sequence. This is what makes the identification process with our system easy. Pricing of 1,000 applications for $0.72 (size 32-45um, 20 particles per application) make our system cost-efficient.
MICOT CORPORATION
http://www.micot.com
info@micot.com
==========================================

query: Information pertaining to cost-effective ways of securing paintings and decorative arts and Micro-Component-Tracer

Finding the Lost Art

THE PAST YEAR has brought intensified international attention on the Nazi's plundering of gold, bank accounts and insurance from Holocaust victims during World War II. But one other potentially significant target of rampant Nazi looting is coming to light: artwork. The magnitude of the problem -- and the difficulty of tracing, let alone recovering, the stolen goods -- was underscored in a House Banking Committee hearing last week. As wartime archives become accessible in the United States and Europe, both the mysteries about what happen to certain artwork and claims for restitution are expected to grow. Curators from prominent museums acknowledged in the congressional hearings that, given the ambiguities of record keeping, they could not say with any degree of certainty that such plundered pieces did not end up in their collections. These would not be simple cases to reconcile, even if the artwork were easy to identify, which it is not. One of the problems is conflicting laws. U.S. law stipulates that stolen art is stolen art, no matter how many times it changes hands. In Europe, by contrast, those who make an art purchase in good faith are given clear title. Congress can help untangle this unsettling legacy of World War II by declassifying more wartime archives and passing legislation that would help finance efforts to investigate allegations about the outcome of works taken from Jews by the Nazis. Representatives Charles Schumer and Nita Lowey, New York Democrats, have proposed spending $10 million toward helping private groups pursuing the case and to scrutinize federal art holdings. The philosophical and legal questions surrounding compensation should not deter the pursuit of the truth. A government investment in cutting through the haze of history would be a good first step toward addressing this disturbing remnant of the Nazi reign.
1998 San Francisco Chronicle

Rauschenberg art to be sold

Creditors set auction date; museums plan to go to court to get works back

HOUSTON - Fifteen works of art by contemporary master Robert Rauschenberg, seized from Houston's Menil Collection on Friday night in a $5.5 million creditor dispute, will be auctioned Feb. 27 unless the Texas-born artist pays a court-ordered judgment. Armed with a court order from Austin, attorneys for German art dealer Alfred Kren and the Austin Art Consortium traveled to Houston on Friday to have the 15 pieces - including the famous 1953 Erased de Kooning drawing - seized from "Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective," a three-part traveling exhibition housed at the Menil Collection and two other museums. On Tuesday, the 15 pieces sat sealed and guarded by off-duty police officers in a Houston warehouse vault as attorneys for the Menil and New York's Guggenheim, which organized the exhibition of more than 300 pieces, prepared court papers to block the auction and have the artworks returned. "The Menil Collection intends to file an action to recover possession of the Rauschenberg artwork and for damages that it has sustained as a result of the seizure of the artwork," said Bob Singleton, attorney for Houston's Menil Collection. "We intend to pursue all available remedies that will expedite the return of the artwork to the exhibition." Mr. Singleton planned to request a temporary restraining order Wednesday in state district court in Houston. The order, if granted, could block the scheduled auction until a hearing on the matter. Neal Manne, the artist's Houston attorney, contended that none of the pieces, including those seized, actually are owned by Mr. Rauschenberg and that they were improperly taken from the Menil. "None of them are owned by him," said Mr. Manne. None of the pieces at the other two museums - the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Contemporary Arts Museum - was disturbed. A Florida corporation - Untitled Press Inc. - owns the 15 pieces. Mr. Rauschenberg, 72, who lives on Captiva Island, Fla., is a shareholder in the corporation, Mr. Manne said. But a shareholder, he added, cannot lay claim to the corporation's property. Eric Taube, attorney for Mr. Kren and the consortium, said that's not what the Menil was led to believe. "That would be news to us, and obviously news to the Menil, too," said Mr. Taube. Promotional material for the exhibit indicates the seized pieces are part of Mr. Rauschenberg's private collection. The dispute began in September when a Travis County court ordered Mr. Rauschenberg and business associates to pay $5.5 million to Austin Art Consortium Inc. and Mr. Kren in connection with a disputed art sale. The judgment included $1.8 million for unpaid commissions, libel, slander and interference with prospective business relationships, the consortium said. The remaining $3.7 million was for punitive damages. The judgment against Mr. Rauschenberg was entered in default. The tripartite Houston exhibition is the first major Rauschenberg retrospective since 1976 and one of the largest shows ever held for a living artist. It spans almost 50 years of work from the Port Arthur native and is to begin an extended overseas tour after it closes in Houston. Museum officials have said seizure of the art will not disrupt the show, which runs through May 17.
For more information, call the Menil Collection at (713) 525-9400, the Contemporary Arts Museum at (713) 284-8250, or the Museum of Fine Arts at (713) 639-7300.

Art talks on again, Youngworth claims

NORFOLK - More than two months after the FBI cast doubt on his credibility, William P. Youngworth III contended yesterday that he has reopened negotiations with representatives of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to help win the return of artwork stolen in 1990. In an hour-long interview at Norfolk State Prison, where he is serving a two-year sentence unrelated to the Gardner thefts, Youngworth declined to provide details of the negotiations, why they had resumed, or who is speaking for the museum. Describing the talks as ''pretty intense,'' Youngworth said he hopes they will be successful. ''The opportunity is here again,'' Youngworth said. ''I walked away from the negotiation table in November. We're back here again, and I urge them to seize the moment.'' Gardner officials declined to say whether there were any ongoing discussions between Youngworth and anyone representing the museum, such as executives, trustees, or lawyers. One individual close to the Gardner said, ''There may have been a time that we were hopeful'' of gaining the artwork's return through Youngworth. But ''that's not the case now.'' Thirteen paintings and pieces of art were stolen in the daring, early-morning heist in March 1990; Youngworth said yesterday that he had told the authorities he could broker the return of 11 of them. He said he did not know the whereabouts of a Chinese bronze container or the bronze top of a Napoleonic flag staff that also were stolen. Martin K. Leppo of Randolph, who has represented Youngworth in his on-again, off-again discussions with federal authorities and Gardner officials, would say only that there had been ''some movement'' in recent days toward restarting the talks. Despite Youngworth's optimistic tone, he conceded that obstacles remain before he is willing to work with law-enforcement officials. Federal authorities refuse to grant him immunity from prosecution for the thefts or the hiding or possible return of the material until he provides concrete evidence that he has access to the pieces. In hopes of gaining complete immunity, Youngworth said, Leppo had asked superiors of Assistant US Attorney Brien O'Connor, the lead prosecutor on the inquiry, to intervene. Leppo declined to discuss the issue. Howard M. Lewis of Framingham, who also has represented Youngworth in his criminal cases, also declined to comment. Saying he was speaking for US Attorney Donald K. Stern, O'Connor said last night that the office's position had not changed: Youngworth would not be granted complete or partial immunity unless he can provide ''specific and credible'' evidence that he has access to the artwork.
Youngworth's main effort to date to provide evidence - turning over to authorities photographs and purported paint chips from two Rembrandts stolen in the heist - ended disastrously. In December, the FBI and the Gardner Museum announced that their separate testing of the paint chips determined that they had not come from a Rembrandt painting. The photographs also were discredited as either photographs of the paintings before they were stolen or photographs of prints. Youngworth's interview with the Globe was the first since last August, when he refused to speak at length unless he was paid, which the newspaper refused to do. He had, until recently, given numerous interviews with the Boston Herald in which he repeatedly said that he would be able to broker the artwork's return. He said yesterday, however, that his relationship with the Herald had soured because of how he was portrayed in an article written by Tom Mashberg, the Herald's lead reporter on the Gardner thefts, in the current issue of Vanity Fair magazine. However, Youngworth insisted that the painting that Mashberg viewed briefly last August in a warehouse outside of Boston was in fact the stolen Rembrandt, ''Storm on the Sea of Galilee.'' Mashberg's viewing of the painting, which he reported was arranged through Youngworth, remains the most convincing piece of evidence of Youngworth's credibility of his ability to broker the artwork's return. Yesterday, Youngworth said that Mashberg's viewing of the painting had been ''capitalized,'' and that he would have been allowed to see more of the stolen artwork if he had been ''better capitalized.'' Youngworth declined to say whether Mashberg or the Herald had paid him in exchange for viewing the painting. Mashberg called Youngworth's statement ''preposterous.'' He said while the Herald had paid for some of Youngworth's travel and other expenses to help Mashberg in his reporting, the paper had never given Youngworth or anyone else money in exchange for viewing the painting. Herald editor Andrew Costello declined to comment.
This story ran on page B03 of the Boston Globe on 02/19/98. c Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.

Irvine accused of looting Scottish art

THE Lord Chancellor was under attack over the refurbishment of his official residence again last night - this time for removing works of art worth at least £1 million from Scottish galleries. Lord Irvine of Lairg has already faced fierce criticism over the £650,000 being spent on his Palace of Westminster apartments, including thousands of pounds on wallpaper and £16,000 on two oak beds. A report in The Scotsman today claims that Lord Irvine's decision to take 87 works from Scottish galleries to hang in the apartments had infuriated officials and left curators and staff in tears. The Scottish National Party's arts spokeswoman, Anne Lorne Gillies, said he was behaving like a medieval baron looting Scotland's art treasures. The disclosure also dismayed his own party; one Scottish Labour MP said: "I cannot bring myself even to try to defend this man. I do not think he will be Lord Chancellor for much longer." But the Lord Chancellor's Department insisted that the galleries and museums loaning the pictures were "absolutely delighted" at the arrangement. The pictures were all presently in store, but would go on display when the apartments opened to the public in April: "That's the basis on which they are being loaned - that the public will be able to see them. All the various galleries and museums are absolutely delighted that the Lord Chancellor is going to display these pictures because every one of the pictures that are coming to London is not on show at the moment. They will be shown probably for the first time in many years."
(Times of London)

RBMS Security Committee Intern

The RBMS Security Committee has a slot for an intern appointment for one year beginning after annual in DC this June. Intern appointments are intended to give the person committee experience without the burden of committing to full committee membership for two entire years. I like to think this committee is kinda exciting. Others may have different ideas. The complete committee roster may be found on the RBMS home page, and I feel sure that the members would be willing to express their opinions about their experiences if you contact them. The current intern is Michael North (mnorth@panix.com), should you wish to contact him. Being an honest, frank person, Michael will probably give you an unvarnished evaluation of his experiences on the committee.
If you are interested in this position, please let me know by December of this year.
Everett Wilkie
RBMS Security Committe Chair
490 Stamford Dr., #201
Newark, DE 19711
302-737-1470
Cell: 302-383-3601

Query re: Museum Security Certification in U.S.

In response to a prior query here, I am unaware of available certification in the U.S. for museum security. However, the International Committee on Museum Security (ICOM) has published an excellent guide specifying standards and procedures for museum security. Their book is called "Museum Security and Protection" and is available from, among other sources, amazon.com, which is where I purchased my copy not a less than a month ago. I should think this book would very useful to those who are in the process of formulating a design for a museum security system or reevaluating existing procedures.
Tom Burka
tburka@aol.com

Russia-Museum Fire (Historical Museum on Red Square)

MOSCOW (AP) -- Fire broke out Wednesday at the recently renovated Historical Museum on Red Square, but firefighters quickly contained the blaze and only limited damage was reported. A second, apparently unrelated, fire broke out later at a government building several hundred yards away, forcing scores of people to evacuate. Welding tools apparently sparked the museum fire, which burned garbage and scaffolding inside the 126-year-old red brick building, said Nikolai Sarychev, spokesman for the city's fire department. About 48 square yards of an empty hall still under renovation were damaged, Sarychev said. The fire department ordered renovation work stopped until safety precautions were reviewed. The popular museum reopened 13 of its more than 40 exhibition rooms in September. It has exhibits tracing history from ancient times through the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. There are artifacts from the Stone Age through the rule of feudal princes and Russian czars up to the modern-day era. The museum had been closed for 11 years while undergoing a general renovation that had been stalled by the Soviet collapse and a lack of money. It will remain open to the public, said Sarychev. The second fire broke out at the building of the Merchant Marine Department, just a few hundred yards from Red Square. Nearly 100 people were evacuated from the building, many climbing down fire ladders. Dozens of people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, injuries and burns.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press.

Mutilated Library Books

We are investigating several incidents of vandalism concerning library books. Pictures are being cut from the pages while the books remain in the library. These incidents are occurring at several of our libraries on campus and a few other libraries in central Ohio. The pictures being removed involve young children, predominately male, in various stages of nudity. Some of the images are from art-related books, while others are from medical books. Anyone working similar incidents please contact me.
Det. Rick Amweg
Ohio State University
Police Department
901 Woody Hayes Drive
Columbus, OH 43210
614.292.2121

Sgt. Rick Allen
Emory Police Department.
1784 North Decatur Road
Atlanta, GA. 30322-0550
404-727-5559
404-727-8039 Fax

Hang him higher

Work of Robert Rauschenberg seized in Houston

Humans are kidnapped, pictures are seized. Art however cannot defend itself. If one would ask paintings whether they rather would like to stay with their creator the artist, or rather put up in an auction and scatteres all over the world, then the response would be clear. At present it is obviously flourishing in the United States to confiscate paintings. Only in January two pieces of Egon Schiele's artwork were seized at an exhibition of the Viennese collection Leopold in the Museum Modern Art in New York . The reason: unsettled property situation; the paintings were stolen from the Jewish owners during the Nazi period and acquired thus by Rudolf Leopold illegitimately. (the SZ reported).

Behind bars

The newest case took place Houston. One day after the opening of the exhibition of the large retrospective of the works of RobertRauschenberg, which is distributed on three museums of the city, the police visited his early work in the Menil Collection and carried off fifteen pieces which are in possession of the artist. The reason: The Galerist Alfred Kren (not unknown and not undisputed to members of the art scene in Munich and Cologne) as well as the Austin Art Consortium have a demand on Rauschenberg at a value of 5.5 million dollar. 1.8 million for " violation of contract, written and verbal slandering as well as interference in business relations with malicious intention ". Additionally the double total - 3.7 million dollar - was determined as " punishment including payment of damages " This amount of money was imposed a fine on Rauschenberg, his trusted friend and " Business manager " Darryl Pottorf and the Zürich Galery-owner Jamileh Weber by a court in Austin last year on September 11th.
19.02.98 Feuilleton

Hängt ihn höher!

Werke von Robert Rauschenberg in Houston beschlagnahmt

Menschen werden entführt, Bilder beschlagnahmt. Kunst kann sich jedoch nicht wehren. Wenn man Bilder befragen würde, ob sie lieber bei ihrem Schöpfer, dem Künstler bleiben würden oder in einer Auktion versteigert und in alle Welt zerstreut werden, dann ist die Antwort klar. Bilder zu konfiszieren hat derzeit offensichtlich Konjunktur in den Vereinigten Staaten. Erst im Januar waren zwei Arbeiten von Egon Schiele in einer Ausstellung der Wiener Sammlung Leopold im Museum of Modern Art in New York beschlagnahmt worden. Die Begründung: ungeklärte Besitzverhältnisse; die Bilder wurden den jüdischen Besitzern während der Nazi-Zeit entwendet und somit von Rudolf Leopold unrechtmäßig erworben. (die SZ berichtete).

Hinter Gittern

Der neueste Fall spielte sich Houston ab. Einen Tag nach der Ausstellungseröffnung der großen Retrospektive des Werkes von Robert Rauschenberg, die auf drei Museen der Stadt verteilt ist, stattete die Polizei dem Frühwerk in der Menil Collection einen Besuch ab und nahm fünfzehn Arbeiten aus dem Besitz des Künstlers mit. Die Begründung: Der Galerist Alfred Kren (in der Münchner und Kölner Kunstszene kein Unbekannter und nicht unumstritten) sowie das Austin Art Consortium haben eine Forderung an Rauschenberg in Höhe von 5,5 Millionen Dollar. 1,8 Millionen für ,Vertragsbruch, schriftliche und mündliche Verleumdung sowie Einmischung in Geschäftsbeziehungen in böswilliger Absicht". Zusätzlich wurde die doppelte Summe - 3,7 Millionen Dollar - als ,Strafe einschließlich Schadensersatz", eine Art Schmerzensgeld, festgesetzt. Zu dieser Zahlung waren Rauschenberg, sein Vertrauter und ,Business Manager" Darryl Pottorf und die Zürcher Galeristin Jamileh Weber am 11. September letzten Jahres von einem Gericht in Austin verurteilt worden.
Alfred Kren, der nach eigener Aussage zehn Jahre mit Rauschenberg zusammengearbeitet hat, organisierte auch die Ausstellung auf der Praterinsel in München vor einem knappen Jahr. Vor der Eröffnung war es allerdings schon zum Zerwürfnis der beiden gekommen. Kren betont, er habe noch Milde walten lassen, ,vendetta" liege ihm fern, schließlich hätte das Urteil ihm ermöglicht, sämtliche Werke aus dem Besitz Rauschenbergs zu beschlagnahmen.
Doch auch so war er nicht gerade zimperlich, immerhin befinden sich die berühmte ausradierte De-Kooning-Zeichnung ,Erased de Kooning Drawing" unter den konfiszierten Arbeiten. Falls der Künstler der Forderung nicht nachkommt, werden die Arbeiten öffentlich versteigert. Am Sonntag reiste der New Yorker Anwalt des Künstlers, Theodore Kheel, an, er zog allerdings unverrichteter Dinge wieder ab. Die Kunst blieb hinter Gittern. In der Menil Collection hat man die Lücken nun mit Arbeiten aus der eigenen Sammlung gefüllt. Fast so als wäre nichts geschehen. Alles nur ein böser Spuk? Rauschenberg: ,No comment", Pottorf: ,I can't talk about it".
Das war ein bitterer Wermutstropfen für die Feiern anläßlich der Heimkehr von Bob Rauschenberg. Schließlich ist er Texaner, geboren in Port Arthur, wie auch Janis Joplin; beide waren sich einig, daß dieser trostlose Ort ,the armpit of the world" sei, was soviel wie der Arsch der Welt bedeutet. Zur Eröffnung war sogar Rauschenbergs 95jährige Mutter, eine Cherokee-Indianerin, angereist. Der Sohn war sichtbar nervös, denn ,sie hat nie so richtig gewußt, was ich eigentlich mache". Für sie malt er auch ganz anders: hübsche, knallbunte Blumenbilder, ,denn sie sieht nicht mehr so gut. Sie besitzt sicher die eigentümlichste und verrrückteste Rauschenberg-Sammlung der Welt".
ZWI
Für den Künstler bedeutet diese 300 Werke umfassende Retrospektive: ,das Innerste nach außen zu kehren". Einst hatte er ganz andere Berufswünsche, bis zu seinem 15. Lebensjahr wollte er noch Pfarrer werden, doch dann störte ihn, daß er dann ,hinter allen Dingen Teufelswerk vermuten würde". Und so entschied er sich für die Kunst, studierte zunächst am Kansas City Art Institute, dann an der Académie Julian in Paris und schließlich am berühmten Black Mountain College bei Josef Albers. Der Deutsche hatte großen Einfluß auf ihn, obwohl Rauschenberg bekennt: ,Ich haßte ihn, ich war seine spektakulärste Niete". Und Albers soll später immer geleugnet haben, diesen rebellischen jungen Mann gekannt zu haben.
Der Rebell schrieb gemeinsam mit den inzwischen verstorbenen Andy Warhol und Roy Lichtenstein Pop-art-Geschichte. Sein Vater war zwar dagegen gewesen, daß sein Sohn Künstler würde, aber ,man hatte ja auch nicht ahnen können, daß es Leute geben würde, die für das Zeug Geld zahlen". Viel Geld sogar. Soviel, daß man damit Millionenforderungen eintreiben kann. Einen Tag nach der Beschlagnahmung der Kunstwerke wurde der Auftakt des Rodeos in Houston mit einer großen Parade gefeiert. In Texas wird offensichtlich nicht nur das Vieh mit dem Lasso eingefangen, auch die Kunst greift man sich, packt sie in Lastwagen und sperrt sie ein.
DOROTHEE MÜLLER
SZonNet: Alle Rechte vorbehalten - Süddeutscher Verlag GmbH, München

The last few sentences translated:

Survey (system specifically designed for cultural protection applications)

I have been monitoring your messages for some time and think that it is very well organized compared to other *.org that I check in on. The reason for this Email is to get your feedback on some questions I would like to ask the membership. I am the president of a manufacturer of electronic components for security systems. I am not interested to sell anything, but I see a potential opportunity to develop a system specifically designed for cultural protection applications. Practically by accident we have several well known US museums using our systems which were never really designed to protect art. Now we have many more interested parties since our participation in the Cultural Protection show in Washington a few weeks back, in fact we were requested to speak about our security ideas in next year's show. Clearly there is enough interest to warrant a serious research into the needs of the marketplace. I have never tried this on Email before and don't know what to expect, but it seems to me that with a group like this I could learn quite alot about what is important and what is not in the protection of people and art. I would like your comments about this proposal. Of course, I would be glad to send you the survey for comment and approval. If you would like to learn a little more about our company check out www.visonic-usa.com, we are headquartered in Tel Aviv where engineering and production are located. Marketing and distribution is in US,UK,Spain,Germany, Uruguay, Singapore as well as agents in 40 other areas around the world. I look forward to your response.
Marc.
=================
First of all: we do like commercial organizations to participate in the MSN list. This works both ways: you can present your activities and 'we' are able to receive information about the latest developments. We really do not mind to forward information about products. We do oppose to any commercial involvement ourselves for we consider our independent position extremely important. Please do send your survey, and we will forward it to the list to allow our subscribers to have a critical look at it.
Ton Cremers
====================

art theft alert

Subject:

Survey (system specifically designed for cultural protection applications)

> From: MARC FREUNDLICH
> Subject: Survey (system specifically designed for cultural
> protection applications)
>
> Dear Mr. Cremers

---

>
> I have been monitoring your messages for some time and think that it
> is very well organized compared to other *.org that I check in on.
> The reason for this Email is to get your feedback on some questions
> I would like to ask the membership. I am the president of a
> manufacturer of electronic components for security systems. I am
> not interested to sell anything, but I see a potential opportunity
> to develop a system specifically designed for cultural protection
> applications.
Dear Mark:
It is really a pleasure to see one of my exhibitors communicating with your potential customers in the cultural and museum communities.
I have always stressed to the participants at the National (really International) Conference On Cultural Property Protection that the exhibitors are genuinely interested in their protection needs. (New products get produced when the designers and producers know what the needs of this small vertical market are.) Sorry for the Germanic sentence structure.
Kind Regards
Roger Wulff
Coordinator - ICMS International Cultural Property Protection
Exposition
(the Trade Show)

---

- From: ARTISTpres@aol.com
Date sent: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 07:38:23 EST
To: ncfe@nwlink.com, securma@museum-security.org
Subject:

N.Y.C. Parks Depart. threatens arrests at 2/24 demo

For immediate release: 2/20/98
Parks Department Hangs Tough; Advises Artists to Blame the Police, Not Elite Central Park Conservancy or Millionaire Art Collectors at the Met, for Violating Their Rights
According to Thomas Rozinski, Parks Department legal counsel, artists should blame the N.Y.P.D. or Parks Enforcement police for the summonses, art confiscations and arrests of street artists in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that are expected to begin on March 1st. Mr. Rozinski claimed that neither the Met nor the elite Central Park Conservancy, which now runs Central Park, have anything to do with the planned crackdown on street artists. Rozinski also issued a veiled threat in a letter to A.R.T.I.S.T. President Robert Lederman, that demonstrators at the scheduled protest and press conference on 2/24 may be arrested for not having a demonstration permit from the Parks Department.
The letter was issued in response to a statement from Lederman that artists would conduct a One Cent Protest outside the Metropolitan Museum if the Parks Department, which owns the land the Met stands on, goes ahead with its plan to demand an artist permit from the street artists who have traditionally sold their works in front of the Met based on First Amendment freedom of speech. According to Lederman, the Met was the only major New York City art museum that refused to support artists' rights in the lawsuit, (successfully won in October 1996), establishing the right to sell art on the street without a license.
A.R.T.I.S.T. members plan to go ahead with a demonstration and press conference at 9:30 A.M. Tuesday Feb. 24th in front of the Arsenal (Fifth Ave. and 64th St) to protest both the artist permit system and the privatization of Central Park [see "Management of Central Park Going Private" N.Y. Times 2/12/98; "Central Park's Going Private", Daily News 2/12/98.] The One Cent Protest is expected to begin after the demonstration on the 24th.
For information call:
A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics) (718) 369-2111
Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern (212) 360-1305
Thomas Rozinski, General Counsel Parks Department (212) 360-1314
William Leurs, President Metropolitan Museum of Art (212) 570-3900
Ashton Hawkins, Legal Counsel Metropolitan Museum of Art (212) 570-3936
Central Park Conservancy (212) 315-0385
To read the text of the A.R.T.I.S.T. statements about this demonstration
and the letter to the Parks Department go to:
http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html

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