Category: Events and Conferences

Last Thursday ARCA sponsored an antiquities panel held at the American Society of Criminology meeting in San Francisco. It was a lively panel, and I always enjoy getting a chance to discuss these issues in person, to an interested audience. San Francisco was a great setting for this kind of thing, and though the conference hotel was located near the Tenderloin, in the old stomping grounds of Dashiell hammett, I managed to restrain myself and avoid making any pained “Maltese Falcon” references, though I’m unable to resist here. What follows are a few of my thoughts which I jotted down during the panel.

Kimberly Alderman began the panel by examining the connections between art crime and organized crime and the drug trade. The connection matters, as it may be one way to help highlight the problem of the theft and looting of sites, as organized crime and illegal drug sales will draw the attention of law enforcement more readily. Yasmeen Hussain followed, and discussed the role of antiquities issues in international relations. I was really struck that there may be more room in the debate for political scientists to weigh in on these issues in a more direct way, perhaps offering frameworks for useful dialogues which can “build capacity” as Yasmeen argued. Erik Nemeth followed and really opened my ideas to the idea of “cultural intelligence” and the need to assess the “tactical and strategic significance of antiquities and cultural heritage sites”. I ended the panel by looking in some detail at the Four Corners antiquities investigation, and argued that the criminal offenses at the Federal level are inconsistently applied and do not really do a very good job of regulating and changing the underlying nature of the market.

One interesting idea which emerged from the questions after the panel was Simon Mackenzie’s question about whether the UN definition of organized crime could or should be applied to certain parts of the antiquities trade like auction houses. The definition states that organized criminal groups are “a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences. . .”. Kim responded by noting that even if these groups are not actively and intentionally engaged in the crimes, they may be unwitting actors or play a part in an organized criminal network, referencing the work of Edgar Tijhuis.

Overall, it was a terrific weekend, another Cultural Property panel with Blythe Bowman Proulx, Matthew Pate, Duncan Chappell, and Simon Mackenzie was terrific as well. Thanks to all the panelists, and especially the volunteers who put together Thursday evening’s reception at the Thirsty Bear.

(cross-posted)

SAFE (Saving Antiquities for Everyone) will be honoring four individuals in New York this week.  From their announcement:

On October 29, 2010, SAFE|Saving Antiquities for Everyone will be honoring four distinguished individuals who use their law enforcement and legal expertise to passionately combat the illicit antiquities trade and fight to protect cultural heritage:

• James E. McAndrew – a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security 

• Robert Goldman – a well-known attorney and art crime expert. 

• David Hall – U.S Attorney and Special Prosecutor for the FBI Art Crime Team.  

• Robert Wittman – Founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team and New York Times Best Selling Author of Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures.

The 2010 ARCA Conference at Palazzo Petrignani in Amelia

I have just returned from beautiful Amelia and the second annual Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) conference.  Next year’s conference will be held July 9-10th in Amelia.  A call for papers and announcement will be posted here in the coming months.

This year the conference was chaired by Founding Director Noah Charney and took place at Palazzo Petrignani at the top of Amelia—a grand setting for the discussion of art crime.  Though the Umbrian sun made the room quite warm at times, the two day conference offered a number of terrific presentations and discussions.  I’d like to draw out a few highlights.  

An International Art Crime Tribunal

Judge Arthur Tompkins delivered the first paper of the conference, discussing what he calls an International Art Crime Tribunal.  Judge Tompkins made a compelling case for the tribunal at last year’s conference, and in the edited Art and Crime collection.  Judge Tompkins argued that we need a consistent and fair approach to these art disputes.  He noted that a number of prominent nations of origin like Italy, Greece or Egypt might be initial eager proponents of such a Tribunal; and Rome would perhaps be an ideal venue for the court to sit.  He gave a frank appraisal of the challenges such a Tribunal would face, but noted that the creation of such a tribunal warrants development.  Much like the other international Tribunals and developments had their own champions, and International Art Crime Tribunal would need the same—the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was championed by Eleanor Roosevelt for example.  Judge Tompkins discussed the ongoing dispute over Portrait of Wally, which has stretched on since 1998, comparing it to the Jarndyce v. Jarndyce chancery decision from Dickens’ Bleak House.  Perhaps a fair robust Art Crime Tribunal would be better positioned to resolve that dispute in a more timely manner.

Portrait of Wally, Egon Schiele, subject of a 12-year forfeiture dispute

It was a position challenged however by Howard Spiegler, who was honored at the conference and who also acts as counsel for the successors of Lea Bondi Jaray, who owned the work before fleeing the Nazi’s.  Mr. Spiegler argued that none of these parties wanted this dispute to stretch on this long, and that much of the delay was a result of the discovery process which has been an effort to uncover the complicated history of this work since it left Ms. Bondi’s possession.  Yet Judge Tompkins responded by noting that the American system of long, protracted discovery does not always promote justice.  It may in some cases, but it also leads to a soul-crushing existence for young lawyers.  Though this research and work is handsomely compensated, it can in my opinion carry a lawyer far from the true practice of law.  That of course is a more general critique, not isolated to the Wally dispute.  Judge Tompkins noted that if a legal system ties the proper adjudication of a claim to one piece of paper or one exchange that may be lost, how can we ever decide a claim?  We are left with an endless search for that one piece of evidence, while the core issues lay unresolved. Though no thinking person would deny the losses during the Second World War, there must be limits to these claims, and we may also consider the loss to the public of a beautiful work of art for nearly 12 years.  Perhaps a Tribunal might allow for future claimants like the Bondi’s to pursue their claims, while also allowing for the continued movement of works of art and allowing present possessors to achieve some measure of repose. 

Other Presenters

There were a number of other fine presentations worth mentioning.  Betina Kuzmarov used the dispute of the Qianlong Bronze Heads from the Yves Saint Laurent collection to examine the difficult nature of using objective and subjective standers in cultural property disputes.  Kristen Hower higlighted the importance of histories and proper acquisition of objects by discussing the dilemma faced by art historians in detecting forgeries in Late Antique art, specifically a number of objects known as the Cleveland Marbles.  Chris Marinello discussed the work of the art loss register, pointing out that the ALR has ceased to offer certificates for certain antiquities searches, as the database is unable to effectively determine if these objects have been recently looted from their archaeology.  Jane Milosch discussed the Provenance Research initiatives at the Smithsonian.  Jennifer Kreder and Marc Masurovsky discussed nazi-era spoliation claims from the perspective of the holocaust claimants and their successors.  James Twining discussed his own use of art crime in his popular fiction.  Valerie Higgins discussed the ways in which armed conflict and identity can be remembered and created. 

ARCA Alumni

A number of participants and graduates of last year’s ARCA MA program presented their work as well.  Olivia Sladen discussed the importance of due diligence in the art market as it relates to forged works.  Riikka Kongas discussed her work at the Valamo Art Conservation Institute in Finland, discussing the plague of forged Russian icon paintings which are discovered when they are brought in to be conserved.  Catherine Sezgin offered her research on the 1972 theft at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1972.  John Vezeris discussed the work of his company, Annapolis Group International in protecting the works of the historical San Lio church in Venice with Venice in Peril and ARCA.  Colette Marvin analyzed the recent string of art crime exhibits being offered by museums in the United States and Europe. 

ARCA Award Winners

Howard Spiegler, recipient of the ARCA Award for Lifetime Achievement in Defense of Art

Lawrence Rothfield, receiving his Eleanor and Anthony Vallombroso Award for Art Crime Scholarship

Dick Drent, recipient of the ARCA Award for Art Security and Protection

Charles Hill was unable to attend, but was presented the award for Art Policing and Recovery.

 Next up I’ll discuss the comments of Giovanni Pastore, former Vice-Commandant of the Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, as well as the comments of Stefano Alessandrini and Maurizio Fiorilli, Italy’s Advocate General, both of whom had some interesting comments on the loss of antiquities and on the ongoing dispute over the Bronze Statue of a Victorious Youth currently on display at the Getty Villa. 

Photos of the Conference courtesy of Urska Charney.

(cross-posted at http://art-crime.blogspot.com/)

The European University Institute and the European Journal of International Law are holding a symposium tomorrow, June 18th in Florence.  I understand you may contact Anny Bremner (anny.bremner@eui.eu) to register.  Here is the program:

International Law for Cultural Heritage

European University Institute, Florence
Villa Schifanoia, Cappella
18 June 2010

Programme

9:15-9:30 Welcome Remarks by the Editor-in-Chief and Introduction to the Symposium by Francesco Francioni

9:30-10.45 PANEL 1: Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Rights

Siegfried Wiessner, St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami, Florida
Karen Engle, University of Texas Law School
Gaetano Pentassuglia, Liverpool Law School, Fernand Braudel Fellow, European University Institute

10.45-11.15 Coffee Break

11.15-12.45 PANEL 2: Restitution of Cultural Objects and Human Rights

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak, University of Western Australia
Tullio Scovazzi, University of Milan
Thérèse O’Donnell, University of Strathclyde

12.45-14.00 Lunch

14.00-15.15 PANEL 3: Intangible Heritage

Lucas Lixinski, PhD Researcher, European University Institute
Federico Lenzerini, University of Siena

15.15-15.30 Coffee Break

15.30-16.45 PANEL 4: IHL–ICL and Cultural Heritage

Micaela Frulli, University of Florence, Marie Curie Fellow, European University Institute

16.45-17.00 Discussion and Closing Remarks by the Editor-in-Chief

Konstantinos Arvanitis has asked me to pass along the following information on the Museums & Restitution Conference:

The provisional programme of the Museums and Restitution conference (University of Manchester 8-9 July 2010) is now available http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/museology/museumsandrestitution/programme/

Museums and Restitution is a two-day international conference organised by the Centre for Museology and The Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester. The conference examines the issue of restitution in relation to the changing role and authority of the museum, focussing on new ways in which these institutions are addressing the subject.

The conference will bring together museum professionals and academics from a wide range of fields (including museology, archaeology, anthropology, art history and cultural policy) to share ideas on contemporary approaches to restitution from the viewpoint of museums.

*Places are limited; book early to avoid disappointment!*
http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/museology/museumsandrestitution/

On April 24, 2010, there looks to be an interesting event on Ethics, Culture and Law in Florence.  Here is the flyer for the event:

Ethics.program

Professors Lyndel V. Prott & Patrick O’Keefe will be organizing a one-week course on international heritage law at the University of Queensland in July.  Here are the details:

As a cultural professional, would you like detailed information on UNESCO’s heritage Conventions in an easily accessible way?

There will be a one-week intensive professional development course on the international legal standards and practices for heritage protection at the University of Queensland from 13-17 July 2010.  It will deal, among other things, with the

·        Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict 1954 and its Protocols 1954 and 1999

·        UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970 and the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects 1995

·        UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972

·        UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001

·        UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003

·        UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions 2005

It will include information on how UNESCO Conventions are drafted, on the negotiations for particular instruments and on their implications for those administering them as well as on UNESCO Recommendations and Declarations, other relevant international law on heritage protection as well as Codes, Charters and Declarations.

Earlier courses at the Australian National University in Canberra and the University of Queensland in Brisbane have included anthropologists, archaeologists, an economist, journalists, a conservation expert, public servants working in the heritage area, a textile expert and other creative artists as well as museums staff.   The course is designed to be accessible across a wide range of professional skills and the interchange and different perspectives of the students is one of its strengths.  Students have come from Australia, China, Japan, Mongolia, Thailand, United States and Viet Nam.

James Cuno, prominent critic of what he calls cultural nationalism, shares an extended interview with Prof. Patty Gerstenblith on Minnesota Public Radio.  Kimberley Alderman notes the “arguments themselves are not particularly unique to these discussions, but its kind of fun to hear the host and Gerstenblith sock it to Cuno on a couple of points (especially when he’s being smug).”  Is Cuno really smug?  Feel free to give the interview a listen and offer your thoughts in the comments below.

Here’s the MPR audio.

Larry Rothfield also notes the moderator “calls Cuno’s bluff”, and also notes the City University New York will be hosting a discussion on April 7th with Rothfield, Cuno, and Lawrence Coben in which focus will be placed on practical responses to the current looting of antiquities.