James Hussey loved comics as a kid. He fell in love with fine art as an adult, and was a big fan of the iconic work of Pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein. In 2015 he happened to see an interview with comic book artist Russ Heath speaking about Lichtenstein’s appropriation of his images, and after digging into the background of Heath’s story, ultimately decided to make a film about it. James’ film, WHAAM! BLAM! Roy Lichtenstein and the Art of Appropriation, was released in April 2023. The cartoon caption accompanying the film’s trailer poses the central question about Lichtenstein explored in the film: “Was he a great artist . . . a thief? . . . or both?”
OW &E’s Linda Joy Kattwinkel represents James, providing advice on intellectual property issues during the making of the film.
James didn’t approach the making of the film with a conclusion in mind, aiming to take a trip through the issues along with the viewer. “I wanted to make the film very even-handed and ensure that both sides of the argument were well represented,” said James. During the process, he interviewed a number of comic artists whose work had been copied by Lichtenstein, as well as biographers and art critics who spoke to the allegedly transformational nature of Lichtenstein’s art. The film’s narrative developed from there.
“I knew that Lichtenstein was an appropriative artist, but . . . I was surprised about how closely many of Lichtenstein’s paintings followed the original sources. And I don’t believe I’m alone,” James told Artnet in an interview earlier this year. “From my interactions, I’m convinced that many, if not most, fans of his work believe he is simply appropriating the comic style, not an actual image produced by another artist.”
Given intellectual property rights are at the heart of the film, James wanted to find a lawyer who specialized in these issues. “I definitely needed somebody in my corner in case anyone contested my use of the images,” said James. “I did a lot of research – it wasn’t easy finding an IP lawyer versed in art law who represents the small guy – most of the lawyers out there represent the big players in the art world.”
After a lot of searching, James found Kattwinkel. “I enjoyed working with Linda Joy – she has a nice edge to her and as an artist herself has a great sense of both the legal and ethical issues at play in the film,” James said. “She was very helpful in identifying potential areas of concern – she found a few things in early versions of the film that were problematic and I took out anything that might have caused a problem.”
Reflecting on the reception of the film by audiences, James expresses some surprise at what has often been a heartfelt response to the plight of the comic artists. “I didn’t go into it to make a human interest story – I was surprised that people saw the film that way given that the comic artists never received any compensation and later in life some them fell on hard times,” said James. He notes that the comic artists never really had any rights to the images – those belonged to their employers, the publishers of the comics, who never took steps to sue Lichtenstein.
But even if they had no legal claim, James thinks the comic artists deserve some recognition. As he said in the Artnet interview, “I hope these [comic] artists will receive proper acknowledgement by the galleries which display Lichtenstein’s work, and by the scholars who write about this renowned Pop artist. Their contribution is an essential part of Lichtenstein’s story. Russ Heath, Hy Eisman, and the many other comic artists whose work was appropriated by Lichtenstein also deserve their day in the sun.”
Kattwinkel agrees: “Most artists I speak to reasonably assume that plagiarism is illegal, and ‘fair use’ requires giving credit to your source. Unfortunately, under current U.S. law, there is no legal right to attribution when one’s work is appropriated. I believe this omission should be redressed, especially in today’s environment of rapidly developing technologies such as AI that engage in rampant copying of creative works for commercial gain.”
The film is available for streaming on Amazon Prime and other services. The Amazon link is here.