Charlie Sheen: May 2011

The Hangover: Part II, set to hit theaters this Thursday, will not be hampered by a copyright infringement lawsuit, at least for now. The tattoo on Mike Tyson’s face was done by tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill, and Whitmill’s work is distinct enough that he doesn’t want anyone copying it. That includes Ed Helms’ character, in the second installment of the Hangover saga. The problem is that Helms’ tattoo wasn’t done by Whitmill, and he claims Warner Bros. took unlawful liberty in reproducing his distinct style on someone else’s face. Someone else’s high-profile face, that is. The tattoo factors highly in the marketing campaign for the film.

According to the lawsuit: “Warner Bros. copied Mr. Whitmill's Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor ... This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

Whitman sued Warner Bros. for copyright infringement (Case No. 4:11-cv-00752-CDP, Missouri Eastern District Court), and wanted an injunction to stop the release of the movie. Fortunately for fans, a judge denied the injunction today in federal court. However, the suit was not thrown out, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

The First & Final Y3K Second (third) Inaugural Melbourne Biennial of International Arts

14 May – 4 June

Opening Saturday 14th May 6-8pm

The Y3K Biennial is a curatorial project developed by Joshua Petherick, James Deutsher, and Christopher L G Hill that features the work of 6 artists from Australia, and 6 artists from elsewhere. It serves as a continuation of both the first, and only, Melbourne Biennial ‘Signs of Life’ (1999), and the second, Y2K artist initiated Biennial (2008), also held in Melbourne. The Y3K Biennial looks at the extension of events and spaces in a lateral and literal sense address the importance of exchange between the Melbourne and Australian contemporary art context with that of our International peers in an open non-formal way, based on the quality of the work and artists participating. With Y3K’s anterior Biennial (the Y2K artist initiated Biennial (2008)) having served as the non-official inaugural Y3K exhibit, the new Y3K Biennial (“title”) will take it’s place as the final exhibition of Y3K’s Melbourne gallery space (2009-2011), positioning the two Biennials as symbolic bookends to the Y3K project.

Carissa Rodriguez (USA)

Tobias Kaspar (Switzerland)

Hany Armanious (Australia)

Piotr Lakomy (Poland)

John Spiteri (Australia)

Natalie Rognsoy (Norway)

Andreas Banderas (Norway)

Katherine Huang (Australia)

Taree McKenzie (Australia)

Ester Partegas (USA)

Tahi Moore (New Zealand)

Mikala Dwyer (Australia)

Michael O’Connell (UK/Australia)

THIS IS THE FINAL PRESENTATION IN THE Y3K EXHIBITION PROGRAM.

Over the last 24 months we have worked with over 99 artists designers and curators to make 48 presentations in Australia and overseas.

Y3K is/was a two-year proposition initiated James Deutsher and Christopher L G Hill, a gallery practice as-an-extension-of an art practice and-in-support-of a wider art and design community in Melbourne and Internationally. Over two-years Y3K exhibited World Food Books, BLESS, Christopher L.G. Hill, Emmeleine deMooij, Jota Castro, Kinga Kielczynska, Melanie Bonaj, fabrics interseason, ffiXXed, Heinz Peter Knes, James Deutsher, Matt Hinkley, Olivia Barrett, Pat Foster, Jen Berean, Rob McKenzie, SIBLING, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Jon Campbell, LOST Projects, Alex Vivian, Daniel du Bern, Nick Selenitsch, Kain Picken, Next Wave, A Constructed World, Joshua Petherick, Helen Johnson, Bianca Hester, Misha Hollenbach, David Griggs, Sam Kiyoumarsi, Robert Langenegger, Nick Mangan, Matt Griffin, Masato Takasaka, Fiona Connor, Tahi Moore, Ida Ekblad, Art Centre Ongoing, Kit Lee, Kate Newby, Sriwhana Spong, Dylan Statham, Simon Taylor, Sophia Mitchell, Rowan Mcnaught, MM Yu. Ilia Farah Rosli, Marco Fusinato, TATE Modern, Marie Gaultier, Anna Hess, Veronica Kent, Jarrod Rawlins, Keith Al-Hasani, Ruby Lowe, Justin Clemens, Daniel Munn, Simon Denny, Dan Arps, Andrew Barber, Structural Integrity, Marco Fusinato, Rose Nolan, Dan Bell, Kate Smith, Ardi Gunawan, Nikos Pantazopoulos, Ben Tankard, Steve Kado, Virginia Overell, Mateo Tannatt, Sean Peoples, Inri Cristo, Tara Rawlins, Chateau 2F, Oscar Yanez, Hany Armanious, Ash Kilmartin, Lizzy Newman, Juan Davila, Janet Burchill, Jennifer McCarthy, Hao Guo, Pow Martinez, Carissa Rodriguez, Tobias Kaspar, Piotr Lakomy, Natalie Rognsoy, Katherine Huang, Taree McKenzie, Ester Partegas, Mikala Dwyer and John Spiteri and everyone we missed.

Christopher L G Hill and James Deutsher would like to sincerely thank the above artists as well as the following people and organizations for their invaluable support; all of the artists who hade had studios at Y3K, Eugénie Delloye, Yve Deutsher, Uplands Gallery, Warren Taylor, Richard Hill, Sandra Hill, Hamish Hill, Vince Chiodo, Gaye Newton, Bruce Wellington, The Narrows, Ulanda Blair, Sarah Bond, Jeff Khan, Matthew Benjamin, Fayen D’Evie, Adam Cruickshank, Gambia Castle, Harriet Edquest, Hopkinson Cundy, Sari de Mallory, Saskia Schut, Ying Lan Dan, Qianyi Lim, Drew Pettifer, Adam Harding, Anthony Kolber, Yahna Fookes, Catherine Dwyer, Chris Barton, Danny Lacy, Sebastian Moody, Dawn Press, Geordie Miller, Jason Hood, Jono Brener, Dov Brener, Roslyn Oxley9, RMIT design department, Maythorp, Ollie and Holly, Lara Moor, Leah Jackson, Lisa Radford, Lydia Chai, Joint Hassles, Max Delany, Alex Baker, Neon Parc, Siddharta Perez, Xavier Connelly, Fiona Lau, Nozomu Ogawa, Yuki Hirokawa, Rosie Overell, Ash Keating, 3331 Arts Chyoda, Bunyip Trax, Y2K, TCB Art Inc. and everyone we missed.

Love always and forever,

Y3K

Ester Partegas, Wallpaper (gates), 2010, laser photocopy prints, variable dimensions courtesy the artist and Foxy Productions

Taree McKenzie, Untitled, 2011, glass, vinyl, wood, gels

John Spiteri, The Cave Of Hands, 2006, acrylic and enamel on glass with artist’s frame, 56 x 56 x 6cm courtesy the artist and Neon Parc

Michael O'Connell (1898-1976), Women Dancing (fragment), c.1932, hand block-printed linen, courtesy the artist, the RMIT design archive and Seamus O'Connell, gift of Christopher Wood

Michael O'Connell (1898-1976), Women Dancing (fragment), c.1932, hand block-printed linen, courtesy the artist, the RMIT design archive and Seamus O'Connell, gift of Christopher Wood (detail)