I spent a few days in November visiting clients and connections in New York City. One of them was a Brooklyn-based entertainment industry lawyer who was chatting with me about different art department issues in clearance reports. She mentioned this intriguing company to me: Picture Clear Art (www.pictureclearart.com). From their website, here are details on their mandate:
“In affiliation with Barkode Props, Inc., we rent an array of cleared art to the production industry. We specialize in print to size, high quality fine art reproductions and offer a wide range of frames with custom matting or stretching. Our mission is to fulfill the needs of film, television, theatrical and commercial productions with the work of the most skilled and stylish artists we can find.”
Good idea, right? Like product placement — but for art!
We’ve had many experiences with productions that have a piece of art they really want to use but they are holding their breath with deadlines approaching as they try to figure out who owns the rights to it and if they will grant permission for a reasonable price. For one project last year, we spent a good amount of time trying to identify the artist of some 50+ year-old murals in a city restaurant where a project was shooting. In the end, I think they ended up covering up the murals at the 11th hour before shooting, not having yet been able to identify with complete authority who painted them.
Renting artwork from prop houses can also create headaches. While you might find something there that is perfect for what you had in mind, a prop house doesn’t typically have the clearance paperwork for the artwork they are renting out. Rights holder research and some waiting around might be part of that bargain. Using a company that rents cleared artwork speeds up the process significantly.
I sent some questions to Dan Harnden at Picture Clear Art so that I could get a better sense of what happens when you work with an art rental company.
Eastern: Which came first, the chicken or the egg — for you was it the product or the client? In other words, did you already have an art collection (or artist friends) and you were looking for ways to increase exposure? Or did you start with a back-ground in set dressing for film/television and wanted an easier alternative to artwork clearance?
DH: It was a bit of each. My dad, William Harnden, was a New York artist from the 1940s into the 1980s and his trials and tribulations made me both appreciative and sympathetic to the plight of artists — particularly the extraordinary ones. To have a career as an artist you not only need to be good, you also need to have your lucky day — and there are a lot of artists out there, more every day. But even if only a small fraction of the unheralded artists are “exceptional”, that’s still a lot of unused and underused talent and product.
So I came to the table with that ax to grind. I also sold vintage posters for a number of years and worked as a picture framer, setting the stage for the moment my friend and now partner, Joel Barkow, came to me with the idea of expanding his business, Barkode Props, to include cleared art. Picture Clear Art was born shortly thereafter and we began building its inventory by mining the work of artists from around the world that we felt were underappreciated.
When we search for art we do not know the age, gender, nationality or, significantly, the selling price of an artist. For our purposes, and that of our customers, aesthetic value is the only value that matters. This process has made us increasingly selective and I promise each of our artists that their work will be in the company of excellence.
In its broadest ambition, Picture Clear seeks to connect the most evocative works from the best artists to the equally amazing work of the people that choose and use the art in productions. Something my dad once said stuck, “It takes just as much talent to appreciate a work of art as it does to create one.” The work of the industry’s set decorators and art directors, their choices and creations, are works of art in and of themselves that deserve a spotlight. So we want to shine a light on the subliminal art show we all glimpse but rarely see. (You can view the some of that work by following #pictureclearart on Instagram.)
Eastern: Can you share any stories about people coming to you with one idea about what they need and then taking a 90 degree turn in another direction after speaking with you?
DH: We’ve only been open for a few months but, on several occasions, we’ve been able to help customers find works that reflected a mood they described which often goes beyond a work’s subject matter or literal interpretation. Primarily, we try to offer enough options to enable a set decorator or art director to zero in on exactly what they’re looking for. They’re a savvy bunch and they know what they want. To facilitate the process, we do most of our printing and framing in house so we can put together whatever’s needed in a hurry. The pres-sure on production teams is considerable and our job is to bend and flex with them as efficiently as we can.
Eastern: Who insures the artwork when it’s out on a set — you or the production company?
DH: The production companies provide a certificate of insurance for every job. But since we only rent reproductions, the cost of replacing a damaged work is quite minimal. It’s our intention to be a bottom line friendly vendor while delivering an unexpectedly high level of service, art and presentation options.
Eastern: Are there terms in your use agreements that clients have found surprising?
DH: Our agreements use standard language and are very much inline with what the industry is used to. It grew out of the insights of our (exceptionally talented) attorney, Innes Smolansky, Joel’s experience with prop rentals and consultation with industry pros.
Eastern: Has your rented artwork ever been loved so much that it was purchased by someone on set?
DH: We don’t have the right to sell the reproductions we make, only to rent them. But it’s our greatest pleasure to pass a buyer along to the artist where they can acquire an original.
Eastern: I’ve found a bunch of other companies that provide this service and am wondering how old it is as an industry. Has this type of art rental service been available for some decades now or is it relatively new for the film/tv industry? I would guess that theater productions have been renting art for a very long time.
DH: The need for cleared art has been around for some time but I think it has really taken hold in New York in the last 10-15 years. And, yes, there are a number of well-established art rental houses in the area but we’re hoping there’s room for us to be what we are: a fast-turnaround boutique of fine art and custom framing.
Eastern: Do you have any general advice for neophytes to this process?
DH: We feel like neophytes ourselves so it’s a little early to be dishing out advice. But I will offer this: finding the balance between what the soul wants and what the numbers dictate will surely be key to the fate of this endeavor. I’m a bit of a dreamer; my partners are realists with huge hearts. Stay tuned.
Finally, here are a few other listings for similar companies from preliminary internet search using the keywords art,rental and movies with the name of a specific locale:
NEW YORK CITY
Art for Film caters to the needs of creative professionals in the film, television, and photography industries in New York City, nationally and internationally. We provide our clients with a large selection of cleared, quality artwork for rental or purchase, and offer exceptional art research and clearance services.
www.artforfilmnyc.com
Jessica Heyman, Founder & Director
jessica@artforfilmnyc.com
TORONTO
Set decorators are welcome at Art Gallery of Ontario Art Rental & Sales! You may rent original artwork for your movie, television, or commercial set for 15% of the purchase price of the work per week. All works have clearance for production, and are available to view online.
ago.ca/shop/art-rental-sales
art_rental@ago.net
1-877-225-4246 or 416-979-6648
Workman Arts online art rental and sales gallery promotes member artists through the sale, rental and exhibition of their work. The program’s inventory includes a wide range of mediums and sizes by a variety of emerging and established artists. Many are suitable for display in an office environment or a public space. Works can be purchased or rented by both public and private sector clients.
workmanarts.com/art-sales-and-rental-program
claudette_abrams@workmanarts.com
call 416-583-4339 ext. 3
LOS ANGELES
Art Image LA and Film Art LA are the perfect cleared fine art resource for all your projects. Call us for 13,000 cleared artworks created by Film Art LA artists. Cleared Art Consulting and Advisory, Art Licensing and Art Studios as Location at 888-858-7107
MOVING IMAGE: filmartla@gmail.com
LICENSING: artimagela@gmail.com
First published January, 2017