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Galt's Speech Poster

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KevinDW78

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I recently came up with a design for a poster of Galt's Speech. It's a 24"x36" poster with Nick Gaetano's Book cover artwork as a watermark and the text overlayed. The cool visual effect it gives is that if you are looking at the poster from a distance, all you see is Nick Gaetano's Atlas painting, but if you walk up close to it, the painting fade's away and all you can see is the text of Galt's Speech. Of course I can't really claim this to be "mine" in any way. I just came up with a cool way of displaying Nick Gaetano's painting.

GaltsSpeechFull.jpg

GaltsSpeechActual.jpg

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That's pretty darn cool, although you need to work on the colouring more to make the picture show through. If you want to take this beyond sheer entertainment value, you should consider creating an original piece of artwork for this.

I'm one of those weirdos who loved the speech and was captivated by all 100 odd pages of it and I would definitely buy something like this.

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This is really neat! Is there any way to order a copy?

As cool as that would be, I would feel a little guilty considering everything Ayn Rand stood for to basically commit copywrite infringement of Nick Gaetano's artwork lol. But that being said - I do have my own print hanging framed in my office, and I absolutely love it and the visual effect it has.

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That's pretty darn cool, although you need to work on the colouring more to make the picture show through. If you want to take this beyond sheer entertainment value, you should consider creating an original piece of artwork for this.

Yeah, the idea I had was to, rather than having the painting faded out behind the text, actually have the text BE the painting. In otherwords, the fill of the text would be the colors of the painting itself. It should still have the same visual effect. I will try that and see how it looks.

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There is a word for making images out of words, but I don't know what that word is. It's not something new, but has existed for perhaps thousands of years and is found in copies of certain parts of the Torah, the Jewish traditional book. I have framed a lot of such images, but I'm not sure what to make of them.

At first glance, it seems neat, but I have to wonder if superimposing an image onto words in this manner violates the meaning of the words in some sense. However, Galt's speech is a summary of the conflict in Atlas Shrugged, and if one thinks that the image on the cover of Atlas Shrugged really concretizes the story in one image, then it might be good.

I don't know. I'm undecided.

You might want to print out a really legible copy in full scale and send it to either ARI or the Estate of Ayn Rand to get their opinion of it and whether or not you could mass produce such an effort, getting copyright notifications and all. I'm sure you would get an informed opinion from someone there as to the artistic merits of doing that to either Galt's speech or Roark's speech.

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You might want to print out a really legible copy in full scale and send it to either ARI or the Estate of Ayn Rand to get their opinion of it and whether or not you could mass produce such an effort, getting copyright notifications and all. I'm sure you would get an informed opinion from someone there as to the artistic merits of doing that to either Galt's speech or Roark's speech.

Nah, I'm not really interested in producing them. I'm kinda like Gail Wynand - I'd just prefer to have it all to myself hehe.

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The black and white poster is my favorite. Maybe it would help if the letters surrounding the picture were a little darker so it stood out more?

That's a shame you aren't going to sell them, I would have purchased several immediately!

:thumbsup:

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As cool as that would be, I would feel a little guilty considering everything Ayn Rand stood for to basically commit copywrite infringement of Nick Gaetano's artwork lol.
Yeah, you're already in the soup as far as infringement goes. Still, are the words on the poster legible, assuming you stand close?
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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah, it's fine for your office I mean, the purpose of copyrights isn't hindering that albeit technically you are in the soup, but my guess is that Ayn Rand would really dig it, but I would buy one of those given that you had the proper permits.

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I got the prints of my new designs this past weekend. And I love them. They are so beautiful!

I would buy one of those given that you had the proper permits.

As I have told everyone who asks me, I have my high-res files exposed on my web server. If you want to download them and go to printroom.com or something like that and have your own prints made - that's your business. Just make sure to print them as a 24"x36" poster. Anything smaller and the font wouldn't be legible.

The images can be downloaded from this link

http://kwroblewski.sytes.net/RandPosters/

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As I have told everyone who asks me, I have my high-res files exposed on my web server. If you want to download them and go to printroom.com or something like that and have your own prints made - that's your business. Just make sure to print them as a 24"x36" poster. Anything smaller and the font wouldn't be legible.

The images can be downloaded from this link

http://kwroblewski.sytes.net/RandPosters/

This is a clear violation of copyright law, and it is immoral to distribute or to download these images.

You ought to contact the estate of Ayn Rand to ask them about permissions; otherwise, you ought not to be distributing them.

It should not have to be pointed out, but just because you have the ability to do something, it does not make it either moral or legal.

The estate of Ayn Rand can be reached at: [email protected]

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This is a clear violation of copyright law, and it is immoral to distribute or to download these images.

We don't have to go to extremes. This is something for the common good.

It should not have to be pointed out, but just because you have the ability to do something, it does not make it either moral or legal.

True. But I have a cool poster of Galt's Speech, and you don't.

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I wonder if Warhol got permission from Campbell's

If he didn't that wouldn't make it legal.

We don't have to go to extremes. This is something for the common good.

Extremes? As if principles are extremes. I have no idea what "for the common good" does exactly to make an illegal act legal. Maybe you might enlighten us? If this has any meaning at all, the proper next step is to get permission from the estate to use the work, even if it is for something like "the common good."

True. But I have a cool poster of Galt's Speech, and you don't.

Except that Galt's speech isn't yours to make into a poster and distribute. By law you stole it.

You were fine up until the point where you offered up the product for anyone to download if they wanted it (and suggested they go make a poster out of it).

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the proper next step is to get permission from the estate to use the work,

There's a good idea.

even if it is for something like "the common good."

Why do things so often touted as being for the common good almost always work out to be to the common detriment...

Edited by Zip
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Extremes? As if principles are extremes. I have no idea what "for the common good" does exactly to make an illegal act legal. Maybe you might enlighten us?

I was joking. Sarcasm.

The only reason I even put them up is because so many people were messaging me asking for them. Since so many "Objectivists" were openly asking me to share it, I didn't seem to mind. But I digress. I've unshared them to conceed your argument because I don't wish to make such a stink about it.

Edited by KevinDW78
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I've unshared them to conceed your argument because I don't wish to make such a stink about it.

Thank you.

Look, I don't want to squelch your enthusiasm. Thirty years ago, I read Atlas Shrugged right before going off to college. This was long before there were home computers and home printers, so I started to hand-copy Galt's Speech and put it on my dorm room door for everyone to see. After about five pages, I realized that I was violating the very principles embodied in Atlas. I mean, they went on strike because so many people were taking what was their's without permission or payment. Later, I put up a name placard that said: Thomas M. Miovas, Jr. / Who is John Galt? / Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

If there is so much demand for the posters, it might be worthwhile getting permissions, and then you could charge for them and maybe make some money.

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Put me down for two of each, if you do decide to do it.

But here's a question: Does Kevin "own" the idea for these posters now, or can ARI produce and sell them without compensating him for his idea?

on edit: (I'd love a poster of the stamp. Any idea if USPS has high-res of it available?)

Edited by agrippa1
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But here's a question: Does Kevin "own" the idea for these posters now, or can ARI produce and sell them without compensating him for his idea?

That's a good question. Considering Kevin didn't ask for permissions, I think that would be up to the copyright holders to decide.

Something similar happened with the movie version of We the Living, which was not done with Miss Rand's permission nor her knowledge. She edited the movie to her ideals, but I don't know that the producer or the director of the movie was compensated for it after the fact of making it. Their names still show in the credits, but I don't know that they were compensated in any other way by Ayn Rand or the Estate of Ayn Rand. I think that when things are taken without permission, then the owner has the sole discretion to make that decision.

Wouldn't be ironic, however, if the Estate of Ayn Rand decided to make such posters and gave Kevin no credit whatsoever and no monies for his effort -- since, in essence, that is what he was doing to them.

On the subject of Ayn Rand related posters, there are at least two available via the Ayn Rand Bookstore:

http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MA03

http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MER01

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But here's a question: Does Kevin "own" the idea for these posters now, or can ARI produce and sell them without compensating him for his idea?
No, because ideas cannot be owned. IP law (quite properly so) recognises the property status of a concrete manifestation of your mind, such as Galt's Speech (not Kevin's) or Gaetano's drawing (not Kevin's). If he had permission to use the drawing and the speech, then the poster would indeed be his IP. FYI, ARI cannot reproduce Galt's speech without the permission of the Estate of Ayn Rand, and I sorta believe that Gaetano retained copyright to his drawings. Had Kevin negotiated with the rights-holders, he could be a potential rich man. Oh well, it probably doesn't matter in the long run because I imagine he will come up with a pile of other clever ideas that will also make him rich (offer void where prohibited by law).
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