The Dead Don't Sculpt, non-disclosed Rodin -forgeries-, from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, at the Laguna College of Art & Design

NOTE: Footnotes enclosed with [FN ]

The Laguna College of Art & Design's July 11 - September 23, 2011 Rodin's Figures, an exhibition organized by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, promoted as having "14 figure sculptures by French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917),"[FN 1] actually contains fourteen non-disclosed posthumous (1925-1995) forgeries.

Auguste Rodin died in 1917. The dead don't sculpt.

On page 661 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -forgery- is defined as: "the act of fraudulently making a false document or altering a real one to be used as if genuine."[FN 2]

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation promotes, in their published 2001 Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession catalogue, these same fourteen non-disclosed posthumous forgeries found in this Rodin Figures exhibition, as being "Signed and numbered A. Rodin."

Under U.S. Copyright Law 101. Definitions, a -work of visual art- ie., -sculpture- is defined as: “multiple cast, carved, or fabricated sculptures of 200 or fewer that are consecutively numbered by the author and bear the signature or other identifying mark of the author.”[FN 3]

The dead don't sign, much less consecutively number.

The Laguna College of Art & Design' motivation largely seems, in part, an attempt to cash-in by selling $500 to $25,000 "Sponsorship Opportunities [as] tax deductible gifts,"[FN 4] by having the public believe and act on that belief that this Rodin Figures exhibition contains "14 figure sculptures by French artist Auguste Rodin."[FN 5]

Would misrepresenting fourteen non-disclosed posthumous forgeries as original works of visual art ie., sculptures "by Auguste Rodin," for monetary consideration, be considered "a knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment"[FN 6] which is one legal definition of -fraud-?

The Laguna College of Art & Design's "Academic Honesty/Academic Dishonesty" policy found on page 5 of their Procedure Manuel, in part, states: “Every member of the Laguna College of Art & Design, including students, faculty, and staff must adhere to standards of honesty in producing and disseminating knowledge and artwork. Credit must be given for material drawn from any source beyond a student’s own first-hand experience. If this material is not common knowledge of the kind possessed by everyone working in a general area, you must give credit for that material in a reference that identifies the source by author, title, and page (or, if the source is not something in print, such as a artwork, by details about the source that is equally precise).”[FN 7]

Rhetorically, since the dead don't sculpt or sign, much less consecutively number, would the Laguna College of Art & Design's misrepresentation of non-disclosed forgeries as "sculpture by Auguste Rodin," be a violation of their "standards of honesty in producing and disseminating knowledge?"

This monograph will document these contentious issues of authenticity and more with the Laguna College of Art & Design's July 11 - September 23, 2011 Rodin's Figures, an exhibition organized by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.



















"Ovid's Metamorphoses, c. 1885-89. Musee Rodin cast 10 in 1979, Bronze, Georges Rudier, 13 1/8 x 15 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (33.3 x 40 x 26 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No 10 and inscribed Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris and © by musee Rodin 1979, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 483" (p 177, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 257, 2003 Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University by Albert E. Elsen, Rosalyn Frankel Jamison and edited by Bernard Barryte  
1 OF 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

POSTHUMOUS PLASTER REPRODUCTIONS USED FOR CASTING
Aside Auguste Rodin was some 62 years dead in 1979 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "Ovid's Metamorphoses" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin," the Musee Rodin admits, on their website, that the museum sends posthumous plaster reproductions rather than Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters to foundries for posthumous casting in bronze. The Musee Rodin's reasoning is that it "perserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin."[FN 8]

Since these second-generation-removed casts in bronze are not reproduced from Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters, by definition, they would not even be considered reproductions.

DEFINITION OF REPRODUCTION
This factual perspective is confirmed on page 350 in Ralph Mayer’s HarperCollins Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques, where -reproduction- is defined as: “a general term for any copy, likeness, or counterpart of an original work of art or of a photograph, done in the same medium as the original or in another, and done by someone other than the creator of the original.”[FN 9]

Rhetorically, when the Musee Rodin has someone, with their hands and fingers, posthumously reproduce plaster reproductions from Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters, whose fingerprints are subsequently cast into bronze?

Yet, the vast majority of the academia and museum industry have the misconception and/or perpetuate that misconception that the posthumously cast bronzes, attributed to Auguste Rodin, are cast directly from his original lifetime plaster models.

An example of this misconception can be found in the National Gallery of Art's published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered catalogue. On page 279 of the "An Original in Sculpture" essay, the author, Jean Chatelain, professor at the University of Paris and former director of the Museums of France, wrote: "When the twelfth copy of The Burghers of Calais is cast, the same plaster model will be used as was used the first time in 1894, but of course different craftsmen will carry out the casting."[FN 10]

So, what would Jean Chatelain think of the Musee Rodin's posthumous practice of sending plaster reproductions, rather than Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters, for casting in bronze?

SECONDARY REPRODUCTIONS NOT EQUAL TO ORIGINAL
Ironically, in the prior page 278 of his "An Original in Sculpture" essay, Jean Chatelain wrote: "an engraving can be reproduced by means of photographic techniques, a tapestry can be copied from one already made, and a bronze statue can be copied from an existing bronze. Through manipulation of these techniques, it is possible to achieve quite commendable results, but all things being equal, none of these secondary reproductions will have the same quality as those made from the original model itself."[FN 11]

The Metamorphoses of Ovid, p 516, The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain

LCAD'S CHECKLIST SNAFU

Additionally, in a Laguna College of Art & Design's Rodin Figures exhibition checklist snafu, this non-disclosed posthumous forgery titled "Ovid's Metamorphoses" was initally listed as a lifetime -cast-: "About 1885-89, This cast: cast number, edition size and date cast unknown Perzinka Foundry, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation."[FN 12]

The Perzinka foundry worked with Auguste Rodin between 1896 and 1901.[FN 13]

Even if the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation had actually loaned this potential lifetime cast ie., reproduction of Auguste Rodin's "Ovid's Metamorphoses" to the Laguna College of Art & Design's Rodin Figures exhibition, would that have been "a rare opportunity for students, faculty and the public to interact with Rodin's art?"[FN 14]

Aside reproductions, much less forgeries are not art, there is no guarantee that Auguste Rodin even had the opportunity to interact with the vast majority of his authorized lifetime reproductions, cast in bronze, since they went directly from the foundry to the polisher [someone who applied the patina] then to the client or dealer, never to be seen by the artist himself.

This perspective is confirmed on page 23 of the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent's published 1988 Rodin catalogue, where the former Musee Rodin curator wrote: "Often it was the polisher rather than the caster who gave the piece it final tone. And since one of the most loyal of these, Limet, lived more than a hundred kilometres from Paris, received the pieces directly from the foundry, and, after putting on the patina, sent them straight to the clients, one must admit that the idea that Rodin had personal control over every phrase of productions was slightly fanciful, at least after his success in 1900."[FN 15]

"St. John the Baptist Preaching, c. 1880, cast in 1925, Bronze, Alexis Rudier, 31 1/2 x 19 x 9 1/2 ( 80 x 48.3 x 24.1 cm), Signed and inscribed A. Rodin and Alexis RUDIER Fondeur PARIS with raised signature A. Rodin inside, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, promised gift to the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1726" (page 181, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 639, 50.8cm lifetime cast, The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
2 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

RODIN GAVE REPRODUCTION RIGHTS TO STATE OF FRANCE

Aside Auguste Rodin was some 8 years dead in 1925 when this non-disclosed second-generation-removed posthumous forgery "St. John the Baptist Preaching" was "Signed and inscribed A. Rodin," the State of France and its subsequent agent, the Musee Rodin, was given by [Auguste Rodin]" in his 1916 Will, upon his death: “notwithstanding the transfer of artistic ownership authorized to the State of M. Rodin, the latter expressly reserves for himself the enjoyment during his life, of the reproduction rights of those objects given by him.”[FN 16]

Now the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's website, does not directly contradict those "reproductions rights" when it states: " In accordance with Rodin's will the Musée Rodin was given the right to cast Rodin's sculpture posthumously,"[FN 17] since on page 70 of Ralph Mayer’s 1999 The HarperCollins Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques -cast- is defined as: “to reproduce an object, such as a piece of sculpture, by means of a MOLD.”[FN 18]

Unfortunately, in an attempt to mask the concept of reproduction, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation on their website, under “Glossary of Terms,” self-servingly rewrites the true definition of -cast- to: “a sculpture produced with a mold.”[FN 19]

Additionally, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation contradicts its' own definition of -cast- when it states: “after closing the mold around the clay model, wax is poured into the space between the model and the mold. This stage is crucial in producing a perfect reproduction of the initial sculpture.”[FN 20]

Then to go from the ridiculous to the sublime, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation further cites on their website the College Art Association's 1974 "Statement on the Standards for Sculptural Reproduction amd Preventative Measures to Combat Unethical Casting in Bronze" as if "sculptural reproductions" not by an artist versus sculpture created by an artist are interchangeable, much less the same.

In other words, it is a non-sequitur, for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation to first make the -representation- that their “sculptures [are] produced with a mold” then to -disclosure- that their so-called -sculptures- are actually “perfect reproduction{s} of the initial sculpture [using a mold].”

On page 1080 of the Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, -non-sequitur- is defined as: “an inference or conclusion that does not logically follow from the premises.”[FN 21]

 
"Dance Movement ‘D’, Modeled about 1910-11, This cast: Marked No. 1, edition size and date unknown, Unknown Foundry, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation" (p 185, Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, Rodin, Auguste, Dance Movement ‘D’, Bronze, No foundry mark, 12 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 3 5/8 in. (32.4 x 10.8 x 9.2 cm), Signed and numbered Rodin/No. 1, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1469" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 536, The Bronze of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain

3 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

DANCE MOVEMENT 'D' CAST AFTER 1952

On page 536 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 Bronzes of Auguste Rodin by its' former curator Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, it states a "foundry model" was used between 1952 and 1956, by the Alexis Rudier and Georges Rudier foundries, for casting thirteen (No. 0-12) "Dance Movement 'D' in bronze. The Musee Rodin has "No. 0" in their collection and the "No.1" is listed as "probably" in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's collection.[FN 22]

FOUNDATION FOCUSES ON THE ART OF AUGUSTE RODIN?
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's -Mission Statement- states it is: "a private operating foundation established in 1978 to promote and encourage recognition and appreciation of excellence in the arts and medical research, through the support of exhibitions, art scholarships, medical research centers and hospitals, and through the endowment of galleries at major museums around the world. The main thrust of the Cantor Foundation's support focuses on the art of Auguste Rodin and women's health issues. The Foundation's efforts are concentrated primarily in California and New York."[FN 23]

Yet, aside Auguste Rodin was some 35 years or more dead in 1952 to 1956 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "Dance Movement 'D'" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin/No.1," the main thrust of the Cantor Foundation's -Mission- seems to be to perpetuated misconceptions and misrepresentation of their second-generation-removed forgeries as the "art of Auguste Rodin."

"The Benedictions, 1894, Musee Rodin cast in 1955, Bronze, Georges Rudier, 35 1/2 x 24 x 19 in. (90.2 x 61 x 48.3 cm), Signed A. Rodin and inscribed Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris and © by Musee Rodin 1955, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1386" (p 183, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Gallery/rvg81.html
4 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

$150,000 VALUE FOR A POSTHUMOUS FORGERY?

Aside Auguste Rodin was some 38 years dead in 1955 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "The Benedictions'" was "Signed A. Rodin," the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "Checklist," for their 1998 Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Collection exhibition at the Nevada Museum of Art, lists this same "The Benedictions" as having an "Insurance value: $150,000."[FN 24]

AAMD ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR REPRODUCTIONS
The Nevada Museum of Art is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. As an AAMD member, the museum endorses the ethical guidelines on reproductions in their 2001 Professional Practices in Art Museum publication. In part, it states: "museums must clearly indicate, through the use of integral markings on the objects, as well as signs, labels, and advertising, that these items are reproductions - signatures, editions numbers, and/or foundry marks on sculpture must not appear on the reproduction. - The touting of exaggerated investment value of reproductions must be avoided because the object or work being offered for purchase is not original and the resale value is highly in doubt. - When advertising reproductions, museums should not use language implying that there is any identity of quality between the copy and the original or lead the potential buyer to believe that by purchasing any such reproduction, he or she is acquiring an original work of art." [FN 25]

Therefore, under these ethical guidelines, AAMD members, such as the Nevada Museum of Art, could not even display, much less sell the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "The Benedictions" in their gift shop because of the posthumous application of a counterfeit "A. Rodin" signatures and/or edition numbers and foundry marks.

"The Night (Single Figure), After 1898, Musee Rodin cast 5/12 in 1973, Bronze, Georges Rudier, 10 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 7/8 in. (26 x 14 x 17.5 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 5 and inscribed Georges Rudier Fondeur Paris and © by musee Rodin 1973 with raised signature A. Rodin inside, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 567" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 561, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
5 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

THIRTEEN IN AN EDITION OF TWELVE

On page 561 of the 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote the "Standing Female Nude Combing her Hair" a.k.a. "The Night" has thirteen total cast in bronze: "twelve casts, in addition to the no. 0 for the museum [Musee Rodin]."

Therefore, aside Auguste Rodin was some 56 years dead in 1973 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "The Night (Single Figure)" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 5," are we to believe or suspend disbelief when the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation states: "In 1956 French law limited production to twelve casts of each model. A system of numbering was established by French legislation in 1968 whereby the first eight of the twelve casts, numbered 1/8-8/8, have been available for the public to purchase; the last four, numbered I/IV-IV/IV, have been reserved for cultural institutions. This law was reestablished and strictly imposed in 1981."[FN 26]

"Venus, c. 1888, Musee Rodin cast 9 in 1978, Bronze, Godard, 40 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (102.9 x 19.1 x 29.2 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 9 and inscribed E GODARD Fondr and © by BY MUSEE RODIN 1978, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1599" (p 184, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: http://museum.oglethorpe.edu/rodin/gallery.asp?img=venus.jpg
6 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

Aside Auguste Rodin was some 61 years dead in 1978 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery titled: "Venus" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 9," in all probability the correct title is "Aphrodite" as found on page 134-35 in the Musee Rodin's published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin catalogue[FN 27] by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain and additionally as documented on page 517 of 2003 Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University catalogue[FN 28] by Albert Elsen, Rosalyn Frankel Jamison and edited by Bernard Barryte.

DEFINITION OF SIGNED
On page 1386 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -signed- is defined as: "To identify (a record) by means of a signature, mark, or other symbol with the intent to authenticate it as an act or agreement of the person identifying it."[FN 29]

POSTHUMOUS FORGERY NOT SIGNED BY RODIN
So, whether you call it "Venus" or "Aphrodite," this non-disclosed posthumous forgery was not, by definition "Signed [much less numbered] by Auguste Rodin."

The dead don't sign.

"Torso of the Walking Man, c. 1878-79, Musee Rodin cast 10/12 in., 1979, Bronze Coubertin, 20 1/2 x 10 3/4 x 8 in. (52.1 x 27.3 x 20.3 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 10 and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1979, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1516" (p 186, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 421, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
7 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
 

On page 421 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin[FN 30] by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote: "first cast, probably exh. 1889" and "twelve casts by Fonderie de Coubertin," not including the cast "no. 0" for the Musee Rodin collections, totaling seemingly at least fourteen.

Therefore, aside Auguste Rodin was some 62 years dead in 1979 when this non-disclosed posthumous forgery "Torso of the Walking Man" was "Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 10," the limitation to an edition of twelve is, at best, wishful thinking.

"Idyll of Ixelles, 1885, Musee Rodin, cast 4/8 in 1981, Bronze, Coubertin, 21 x 14 5/8 x 14 5/8 in. (53.3 x 37.1 x 37.1 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 4 with Coubertin foundry mark and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1981, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1682 (plate 13)"
Photo: p 24, Plate 13 and p 183, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue
8 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

FRENCH LAW AND THE NOTATION -REPRODUCTION-

The March 3, 1981 French decree no. 81.255, Article 9, in part, states: “All facsimiles, casts of casts, copies, or other reproductions of an original work of art as set out in Article 71 of Appendix III of the General Code of Taxes, executed after the date of effectiveness of the present decree, must carry in a visible and indelible manner the notation ‘Reproduction’.”[FN 31]

Remember, the Musee Rodin admits they do -not- send Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters, but posthumous plaster reproductions, to foundries for casting in bronze.

ALL ORIGINAL - SOME WERE MADE DURING HIS LIFETIME?
Yet, despite that irrefutable fact, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation would have the news media, much less the public, believe their widely distributed "Summary: Authorized Posthumous Casting of the Work of Auguste Rodin" paper that states: "all works in the Iris and B. Gerald Collection and Cantor Foundation are original Rodins. Some of these were made during Rodin's lifetime, others were made after he died and according to his explicit wishes and instructions to the government of France."[FN 32]

DEFINITION OF ORIGINAL
On page 286 of HarperCollins' published 1991 Dictionary of Art Terms & Techniques by Ralph Mayer, -original- is defined as: "an artist's independent creation."[FN 33]

Does Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "some of these were made during Rodin's lifetime" statement, give any confidence whatsoever that they understand what constitutes an original, much less a forgery?

"The Night (Double Figure), After 1898, Musee Rodin cast I/IV in 1983, Bronze, Godard, 10 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 7/8 in. (26 x 14 x 17.5 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. I/IV and inscribed E. Godard Fond and © by MUSEE Rodin 1983, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1340" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 561, 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
9 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES
 

On page 561 of the Musee Rodin's published 2007 The Bronzes of Rodin[FN 34] by Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, the author wrote the Musee Rodin's "Night, Two-Figure Assemblage" is "No. 0" with "twelve cast by E. Godard from 1980: 1 and 2/8" and "I/IV, © 1983, Los Angeles Cantor Foundation."

With so-called edition in eight in Arabic, four in Roman numerals and the Musee Rodin's numbered zero that totals thirteen.

Remember, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's statement on their website: " In 1956 French law limited production to twelve casts of each model. A system of numbering was established by French legislation in 1968 whereby the first eight of the twelve casts, numbered 1/8-8/8, have been available for the public to purchase; the last four, numbered I/IV-IV/IV, have been reserved for cultural institutions. This law was reestablished and strictly imposed in 1981."[FN 35]

CANTOR FOUNDATION IS NOT A CULTURAL INSTITUTION
Aside this 1983 Musee Rodin cast is not limited to twelve unless of course you consider thirteen a baker's dozen and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is not a cultural institution, so how did a so-called non-profit foundation end up with a Musee Rodin's -I/IV- cast that is supposedly "reserved for cultural institutions?"

"Sorrow, 1889, Musee Rodin cast 1/8 in 1983, Bronze, Coubertin, 11 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 6 3/4 in. (29.2 x 16.5 x 17.1 cm), Signed A. Rodin and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1983 No. 1/8 and La Porte de l'enfer 1977 -81 don DE.B. Gerald Cantor, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, promised gift to the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1324" (p 178, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)

Photo: http://ncartmuseum.org/images/ncma/collection/rodin500/sorrow_2009_1_16_view_a.jpg
10 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES 

POSTHUMOUS PLASTER REPRODUCTIONS, THE MISSING STEP

In the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "Ten Step Lost Wax Casting Process of Auguste Rodin's Sorrow" display, it leaves out one important step the Musee Rodin makes by sending posthumous plaster reproductions of the [Step 1.] "artist creates a sculpted model, generally made of plaster, clay, marble, stone, or wood."[FN 36] Therefore, [Step 2.] should be the third step where "The surface of the [posthumous plaster] model is coated with a protective substance."[FN 37]

Remember the Musee Rodin sends posthumous plaster reproductions, not Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plasters, to the foundries for casting in bronze because it "preserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin."[FN 38]

As a result, the 2nd-generation-removed bronzes from these posthumous plaster reproductions, by definition, would -not- be reproductions of anything Auguste Rodin created.

Additionally, in Step 9, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's "Ten Step Casting Process" is not only contradicted by the Musee Rodin's use of posthumous plaster reproductions for casting in bronze but actually contradicts itself when it states: "The bronze sculpture and its sprues and gates are an exact reproduction of the wax."[FN 39]

A posthumously cast bronze can -never be a sculpture, much less a reproduction if that bronze is actually cast from a posthumous plaster reproduction.

Yet, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation continues to use sculpture as an euphemism for 2nd-generation-removed forgeries, much less reproductions.

"Illusions Received by the Earth (The Fallen Angel), 1895, Musee Rodin, cast 1/8 in 1983, Coubertin, 15 1/2 x 27 x 15 1/2 in. (39.4 x 68.6 x 39.4 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin/1/8 and inscribed © by Musee Rodin 1983, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, promised gift to the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation 1341" (p 184, Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession)

Photo: p 529, 2003 Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University by Albert E. Elsen, Rosalyn Frankel Jamison and edited by Bernard Barryte

11 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

The Laguna College of Art & Design, located at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California 92651-1136, must operate under the laws and statutes of the State of California and the United States of America.

DEFINITION OF DERIVATIVE
Under U.S. Copyright Law, § 101. Definitions, a -derivative work- is defined as: "a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as - art reproduction."[FN 40]

Aside the Musee Rodin admission they don't reproduce in bronze from Auguste Rodin original lifetime plasters, anything posthumously cast, even from a posthumous plaster reproduction, would be, at best, a "derivative work" ie., reproduction.

ATTRIBUTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY REPRODUCTION

Under U.S. Copyright law § 106A. the "Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity - shall not apply to any reproduction."[FN 41]

CALIFORNIA LAW REQUIRES DISCLOSURE OF REPRODUCTIONS California Civil Code 17.38 to 17.45 requires certain disclosure of reproductions if sold for $100 or more. Specifically, California Civil Code 1741 states: “This title shall apply to any fine art multiple when offered for sale or sold at wholesale or retail for one hundred dollars ($100) or more, exclusive of any frame.” Additionally, California Civil Code 1742 (b) states: “This law requires disclosure - whether the multiple is a reproduction.”[FN 42]

Now, granted the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is not selling these non-disclosed forgeries in this Rodin Figures exhibition, though the Laguna College of Art & Design is soliciting $500 to $25,000 "Sponsorship Opportunities [as] tax deductible gifts."

So, would Laguna College of Art & Design and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation argue the letter, much less the spirit, of California Civil Code does not apply to them?

"Tragic Muse, 1894-96, Musee Rodin cast 5/8 in 1986, Bronze, Godard, 13 x 25 1/2 x 15 1/4 in., (33 x 64.8 x 38.7 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. 5/8 and inscribed E. Godard Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin 1986, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1504 (plate 59)"

Photo: p 76, Plate 59 and p 181, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue

12 of 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

In 1996, the Musee Rodin allowed the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and/or its' representative to pick the color of Auguste Rodin’s “Monument to Victor Hugo” being posthumously forged in bronze.

CANTOR FOUNDATION PICKED THE COLOR

This is confirmed in the Fall 1998 Sculpture Review trade magazine published “Casting of the Monument” article by the Coubertin founders Frederic Colombier and Jean Dubo. On page 34 of this article, the founders wrote: “After presentation of samples, the Musee Rodin and the Cantor Foundation approved the color to be achieved.”[FN 43]

This is additionally confirmed in Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation’s published 1998 Rodin’s Monument to Victor Hugo catalogue. On page 10 of the “Forward,” the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation Executive Director Rachael Blackburn states: “Ruth Butler, professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, who wrote the introduction to this catalogue, offered her insightful guidance and worked closely with Mrs. Cantor, the Musee Rodin, and the foundry to determine the delicate nuances of the monument’s patina.”[FN 44]

In September 21, 1999 telephone conversation with the Musee Rodin Board of Directors member Ruth Butler, she informed this scholar that Iris Cantor had asked her to observe the casting and patina of Auguste Rodin’s “Monument to Victor Hugo” bronze that the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation was purchasing from the Musee Rodin. When asked whether there was any historical research that would document what Auguste Rodin might had selected as the patina for this bronze, Ruth Butler answered: “it would be up to the foundry.”[FN 45]

When Ruth Butler was asked, in that same telephone conversation, whether the Coubertin foundry, which went into business in 1963 some forty-six years after Auguste Rodin’s death, had asked for her approval of the patina, she answered: “Well.”

So, in 1999, when either Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's Ruth Butler and/or the Coubertin foundry picked the color of this non-disclosed posthumous forgery, are we to suspend disbelief or just believe anything was "cast the same way they were while Rodin was alive?"

"Ecclesiastes, Before 1899, Musee Rodin cast II/IV in 1995, Bronze, Godard, 10 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 11 3/4 in., (26.7 x 26 x 29.8 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. II/IV and inscribed E. GODARD Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin 1995, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1683" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: p 140 1998 Rodin a Quebec  
13 OF 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

On page 310 of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's published 1976 Sculpture of Auguste Rodin by John Tancock, the author wrote of the Auguste Rodin's "Ecclesiastes" plaster, in the museum's collection as "not signed and inscribed."[FN 46]

PLASTER NOT SIGNED - POSTHUMOUS BRONZE IS
So, if Auguste Rodin did not sign an "Ecclesiastes" plaster posthumously acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the Musee Rodin in the late 1920's, how did the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation acquired an posthumous Auguste Rodin "Ecclesiastes" bronze, "Signed and numbered by A. Rodin" in 1995, some 78 years after his death?

On page 354 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -counterfeit- is defined as: "To forge, copy, or imitate (something) without the right to do so and with the purpose of deceiving or defrauding."[FN 47]

"Sphinx on a Column, c. 1889 or later, Musee Rodin cast III/IV in 1995, Bronze, Godard, 36 x 6 1/8 x 9 in., (91.4 x 15.6 x 23 cm), Signed and numbered A. Rodin No. III/IV and inscribed E. Godard Fondr and © BY MUSEE Rodin 1995, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 1684" (p 185, Checklist Rodin A Magnificent Obsession catalogue)
Photo: The Sphinx, Montage on Column, Produced in 1990, Plaster, 36 [COLUMN: 30 ] x 6 x 9 in., (91.5, [COLUMN : 76.5] x 15.5 x 23 cm.), p 121. Rodin by Raphael Masson & Veronique Mattiussi, © Editions Flammarion, Paris - Musee Rodin, 2004  
14 OF 14 NON-DISCLOSED POSTHUMOUS FORGERIES

The above photograph of the plaster, titled "The Sphinx, Montage on Column" is listed, on page 121 in the Musee Rodin's published 2004 Rodin catalogue by Raphael Masson and Veronique Mattiussi, as produced in 1990. This posthumous plaster reproduction, that may have been reproduced from Auguste Rodin's original lifetime plaster, may have been the posthumous plaster reproduction sent to the Godard foundry for casting "No. III/IV" in bronze.

Therefore, if the original lifetime plaster was actually signed by Auguste Rodin, the posthumous plaster reproduction would -at best- reproduce his signature. The subsequent posthumous bronze, cast from that posthumous plaster reproduction, would -at best- reproduce the reproduction of his signature. So, to refer to, what at best, is a copy of a copy of something Auguste Rodin may have signed as "Signed" is the kind of troubling practice that undermines the credibility of the Musee Rodin, much less those like the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation that purchase these 2nd-generation-removed posthumous forgeries.

BACKGROUND

As a result, over the last decade or so, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and many of the participating museums found themselves between a rock and hard place when confronted by the news media about these many contentious issues of authenticity with their traveling road shows of non-disclosed posthumous forgeries falsely attributed as sculptures by Auguste Rodin.

RODIN EXHIBITION TO PRODUCED BLOCKBUSTER NUMBERS
In a Buffalo News' published -front page- March 28, 2004 "Lively debate on posthumous art" article by Tom Buckham, the reporter wrote: "Who can blame the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for counting on "Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession" to produce blockbuster numbers when the exhibition of 70 works settles in for 10 weeks beginning April 20?"

Yet, "If art dealer Gary Arseneau is to be believed," the reporter wrote: "all but a handful of the traveling works from the California-based Cantor Foundation are "fakes" - sculptures cast long after Rodin died 86 years ago and not from the original plaster molds but from copies of those molds."

On the other hand, "Albright-Knox Art Gallery curator for modern art and a Rodin scholar" Ken Wayne, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on the sculptor while a Cantor Fellow at Stanford University, not only rejected this scholar's assertions that anything posthumous in the exhibition were "copies of copies" but is quoted stating: "Some are lifetime works, and some are posthumous. Posthumous casts are legitimate."

First, how could someone who professes to be a "Rodin scholar" be unaware that the Musee Rodin, as documented earlier, sends posthumous plaster reproductions to the foundries for casting in bronze, so it: "preserves the old plasters which are obviously more valuable since they were made during the lifetime of Rodin.”

Second, as for Curator Ken Wayne's use of the phrase "some are posthumous casts," that "some" totaled at least fifty-four of the sixty or so bronzes, in the exhibition, that were actually posthumously forged between 1919 and 1995 with counterfeit "A. Rodin" signatures inscriptions, some two to 78 years after Auguste Rodin's death in 1917.

The dead don't sculpt, much less sign.

Unfortunately, for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, neither the museum nor their "Rodin scholar" seemed prepared to address these contentious issues of authenticity.

As for whether this scholar's assertions had merit, the reporter wrote: "In a July 2000 article about the controversy in the Winston-Salem Journal, William R. Gignilliat, an Atlanta lawyer who specializes in intellectual property rights, generally agreed with Arseneau that the posthumous Rodins should be identified as reproductions, even if laws don't universally support the disclosure requirement."

What made this Buffalo News' published "Lively debate on posthumous art" article unique is unlike dozens of prior published newspaper articles, concerning these contentious issues of authenticity raised by this scholar with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's so-called -Rodin- collection, it was published on the -front page- giving it, its' widest audience.

22,000 ATTEND RODIN VERSUS 167,000 ATTENDED MONET
As a result, five months later the potential consequences of that published front page story became evident when the Buffalo News published on July 2, 2004 "Rodin exhibit closes Saturday; gallery to feature more self-produced shows" article by Tom Buckham. In part, the reporter wrote: "Over the 11-week run that opened April 17, the traveling retrospective from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, containing 60 of the French master's bronze works, has drawn roughly 22,000 visitors. That's a far cry from the record 167,000 who came to see "Monet at Giverny" during its 14-week stand in 1999, and many fewer than have attended other recent exhibitions starring famous Impressionists."

1.45 MILLION IN POTENTIAL LOST REVENUE With the Albright-Knox Art Gallery's $10 adult admission to view this exhibition, that 145,000 difference in attendance adds up to estimated $1.45 million in potential lost revenue.

So, did the public stay away in droves because of the Buffalo News published these contentious issues of authenticity in a front page story?

Ironically, Albright-Knox spokeswoman Cheryl Orlick was quoted in that article not only diminishing their attendance expectations but backhandedly complimenting this scholar's exposure of these contentious issues of authenticity: "We would have liked to see more people, but we didn't really expect huge crowds" but "If anything, the debate might have piqued peoples' interest a little bit."

Unfortunately, future museums venues, of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's collection of non-disclosed posthumous forgeries, would not respond as kindly to these same contentious issues of authenticity being -debated- by this scholar.

GLENBOW MUSEUM & CANTOR FOUNDATION PR CAMPAIGN
In the Fall of 2004, in an attempt to preempt these contentious issues of authenticity from being effectively brought up by this scholar in the next venue: the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta [Canada], the museum and its' Communications Specialist Tanis Booth, along with the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's director Judith Sobol and attorneys for the foundation put together a public relations campaign titled: -The Curious Fixation of the “Rodin Chaser"-.

Here is the unedited version released September 23, 2004:

• MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
• The Curious Fixation of the “Rodin Chaser"

• "Calgary, AB (September 23, 2004) –Beware Calgary! The "Rodin Chaser"  will strike in our city in a few weeks. His target will be Glenbow Museum’s fall exhibition, Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, which will be on view from October 30, 2004 to January 30, 2005. This exhibition features nearly 70 sculptures, drawings, and studies by Auguste Rodin, considered by many as one of the greatest sculptors since Michelangelo.
• "Since 1999, the "Rodin Chaser" has dogged this acclaimed exhibition in different centres across the United States. By now, the pattern is familiar. Shortly before the scheduled opening of the exhibition, local media are bombarded with lengthy and inflammatory e-mails from Florida artist and gallery owner Gary Arseneau that denounce the sculptures in the Magnificent Obsession show as fakes. Driven by an obsession of his own, Mr. Arseneau is a self-proclaimed crusader on a mission to expose supposed art fraud. He is the self-published author of several books on art and deception and has been a vocal critic of many different exhibitions over the years. Mr. Arseneau tracks the itinerary of A Magnificent Obsession as it travels from place to place and Glenbow Museum is the next venue.
• "Gary Arseneau constantly repeats his mantra that ‘dead men don’t sculpt’ and his claim that all posthumous Rodin casts are ‘fakes/reproductions’. The resulting controversy is quickly dispelled when the terms of Rodin’s will and the unique situation of the Musée Rodin are explained. Rodin willed his entire estate to France and he authorized the casting of his work after his death. As Glenbow art curator Monique Westra explains, “Dead men don’t sculpt but dead men don’t change their minds either. The two central pillars of Rodin’s legacy were the foundation of a museum, the Musée Rodin, dedicated to his work and the ongoing casting of his sculptures following his death to ensure the broad dissemination of his art.
• "Art experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s accusations as nonsense. Unfortunately Arseneau’s misinformed allegations temporarily divert attention from the true value of the exhibition, which presents the astounding work of a remarkable artist whose images, ideas and working methods were daring and original, setting artistic precedents which had a huge impact on the course of modern art.
• "Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is drawn from the largest private collection of Rodin in the world. It was amassed by the late B. Gerald Cantor who was fascinated by the great French artist’s work. This travelling exhibition has already been seen by thousands of people across the United States. On at Glenbow Museum from October 30, 2004 to January 30, 2005, Calgary is the first Canadian venue before the show moves on to Halifax and Vancouver."

• Media contact:
• Tanis Booth, Communications Specialist
• Glenbow Museum
• (403) 268-4246
• tbooth@glenbow.org

On page 41 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -ad hominen- is defined as: "Appealing to personal prejudices rather than to reason; attacking an opponent's character rather than the opponent's assertions."[FN 48]

Obviously, the Glenbow Museum, its' Communications Specialist Tanis Booth, the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation director Judith Sobol's public relations strategy, with their "Media Advisory: The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser," was not to address this scholar's assertions but to attack his character.

THE CURIOUS FIXATION OF THE RODIN CHASER PODCAST
The Glenbow Museum's ad hominen strategy toward this scholar was further confirmed in a 2006 "Media Relations Matters" online podcast titled "The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser,"[FN 49] interview by Media Training Consultant Eric Bergman with Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt (maiden name Booth) concerning the museum's Fall 2004 Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation exhibition.

2006 IABC GOLD QUILL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
This “The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser With Tanis Shortt” podcast interview is described as: “This 10-minute conversation with Tanis Shortt discusses her 2006 IABC Gold Quill award of excellence. She developed a proactive media relations campaign to fend off potential negative publicity when the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, featured a three-month showing of Rodin: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.”[FN 50]

ILLEGITIMATE SOURCE OF CULTURAL AUTHENTICITY In the interview, the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated: "that when we were developing the marketing and media campaign for this exhibition, we were advised by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, which is actually one of the largest private collector of Rodin sculpture and who was touring the show, that there is a self-proclaimed crusader who denounces the sculptures in this exhibition. He claimed they were frauds because they were cast following the death of Rodin. And so we were concerned about Glenbow's reputation if we were, I guess, treated in the media as being an illegitimate source of cultural authenticity."[FN 51]

 A "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist," named Tanis Shortt states: "sculptures in the exhibition" but admits "they were cast following the death of Rodin" and they are concerned the media will treat the Glenbow Museum as "an illegitimate source of cultural authenticity?"

So, did this "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist" have the right to be concerned about the Glenbow Museum's reputation?

BEAT HIM TO THE PUNCH

The Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated that the museum developed a media strategy to notify the news media with a -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] and a "backgrounder" [on the authenticity of these sculptures] to "beat him to the punch."[FN 52]

The Glenbow Museum's "The Curious Fixation of the Rodin Chaser" -media advisory-, stated: "Gary Arseneau constantly repeats his mantra that ‘dead men don’t sculpt’ and his claim that all posthumous Rodin casts are ‘fakes/reproductions’" and "Art experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s accusations as nonsense."

So, who are these so-called "art experts, scholars and museum curators," referred to in this -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau], that supposedly believe the dead can sculpt and that anything cast, much less posthumously, is not, at best, a reproduction?

The only name given on this Glenbow Museum -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] is the "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt" who admits later in this interview she has "no curatorial background."

QUITE NEGATIVE AT PREVIOUS VENUES
Despite some misgivings within the Glenbow Museum concerning this -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] strategy, Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated: "when we demonstrated how it had proven to be quite negative at the previous venues where the show had been hosted,"[FN 53] the museum signed off on it.

So, when the Glenbow Museum didn't like the message, their Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt recommended they attack the messenger.

INITIALLY WANTED TO CALLED HIM THE RODIN STALKER
As for the -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau], the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt, stated: "The one hiccup that we thought was totally unexpected was we initially wanted to call him the Rodin Stalker because he'd actually, this fellow, who is the self proclaimed crusader, had previously been referred to as the Rodin Stalker in the media by the media in the U.S. And when we ran this initial document by the lawyers of the Cantor Foundation who's the owner of all these works, the lawyer actually advised that was not a good idea because the legal connotation to using the word stalking. Of course it's a felony. So, we actually had to go back and change it. And of course we thought stalker certainly conveyed a certain message and we still wanted to indicate why or we still wanted to use a word that sort of demonstrated how aggressive this person was in his approach to the media. So, we sort of back peddled and came up with the chaser, the Rodin Chaser. We thought it was still kind of fun phrase." [FN 54]

On page 1412, of the Seventh Edition of Black's Dictionary, -stalking- is defined as: "1. The act or an instance of following another by stealth. 2. The offense of following or loitering near another, often surreptitiously with the purpose of annoying or harassing that person or committing a further crime such as assault or battery."[FN 55]

 On page 427 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -defamation- is defined as: "The act of harming the reputation of another by making a false statement to a third person."[FN 56]

So, even after being warned by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation attorneys that referring to this scholar as a "stalker" would imply a "felony" has been committed, this "Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist" Tanis Shortt still years later continue to potentially defame this scholar when she publicly states: "of course we thought stalker certainly conveyed a certain message."

NOT EVERYBODY HAS A CURATORIAL BACKGROUND, INCLUDING MYSELF
The Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt, when asked "in terms of briefing the media did you have to walk that balance so that you did not overwhelm them with information?," she responded: "Yea, absolutely and that's something we had to do on a day to day basis so we're not alienating ourselves because not everybody has a curatorial background, including myself."[FN 57]

CASTING PROCESS - AN ART FORM

The Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt was asked by Eric Bergman: "So, did they [media] find that they were able to ask more sophisticated questions of the Rodin Chaser because they had that information in advance and to pick through at what were really - really the facts were of the story, is that something that you, some feedback that you got back from reporters?," she responded: "It was, I think the other thing we were really please with was to see the level of interest in the whole casting process, its a pretty complicated process for an art form."[FN 58]

Since, -cast-, by definition, means to reproduce an object such as a sculpture by use of an mold and art is created by a living artist, what are we to think of the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt who would commingle cast versus art as if they were interchangeable, much less the same?

OTHER ART MUSEUMS - INITIATE THE SAME STRATEGY
"Beyond that," the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt stated: "this media relations strategy has since been taken on using both our materials and speaking with us in advance to develop their own campaign by five other art museums across North America and I think that's a, that's a big success story in itself. - I think we were in even more pleased because it wasn't even just in Canada, we've actually had three art museums in the states who recognized the success of the campaign and wanting to take it on and initiate the same, initiate the same strategy for themselves."[FN 59]

On page 1232 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, -propaganda- is defined as: "The systematic dissemination of doctrine, rumor, or selected information to promote or injure a particular doctrine, view or cause."[FN 60]

What the Glenbow Museum's Communication Specialist Tanis Shortt failed to disclose, in this interview, is that these museums, with one known exception, plagiarized the Glenbow Museum -media advisory- [on Gary Arseneau] without giving proper attribution to its' source. So, aside the fraud of misrepresenting, for monetary consideration, including but not limited to admission fees and city-state-federal grants, non-disclosed posthumous forgeries, from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, as sculptures, these museums were intellectually dishonest.

For confirmation, compare these two pdf files :

• The Curious Fixation of the "Rodin Chaser" [pdf 201k] (September 23, 2004) *This media strategy won a 2006 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Award of Excellence in the Media Relations category).
• http://www.glenbow.org/about/media/archived.cfm

• Beware Vancouver of the “Rodin Chaser!” May 16, 2005 ... Vancouver, BC – Beware Vancouver, the “Rodin Chaser” may strike in our city in ... Since 1999, the “Rodin Chaser” has dogged this acclaimed ...www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/media_room/pdf/rodin_chaser.pdf

As for the Glenbow Museum and Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's assertions that "Art experts, scholars and museum curators dismiss Arseneau’s accusations as nonsense," contrast that with the following, but not limited to, two examples:

DR. ROBERT TORCHIA
FIRST, "concerning the Cummer's forthcoming exhibition of Rodin's Movement to Victor Hugo" from the Iris and B. Cantor Foundation, in an April 8, 1999 letter (copy above) to this scholar from the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens curator, systematic cataloger for the National Gallery of Art, author and Ph.D in Art History, Dr. Robert Torchia wrote: "Although this is an extremely complex issue, I have to admit that I am in basic agreement with your objections concerning the work's originality and degree of authenticity."

SECOND, is the Opelika-Auburn News' published January 2, 2005 "Rodin's legacy, The artist who helped usher in the age of ambiguity in sculpture continues to raise questions almost 90 years after his death" article by Jason Nix concerning an Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's Rodin: In his Own Words exhibition in 2005 at Auburn University.

AU ART PROFESSOR MARK GRAHAM
Despite the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation's director Judith Sobol's quote: "We don't comment about his [Gary Arseneau] contentions because they don't bear any weight whatsoever in the art world - Nobody who knows anything about the field doubts the originality of these pieces. I don't understand what entitles him to a point of view that's covered by the press. It's talking about the picture frame and no the picture," the reporter wrote: "Mark Graham, an AU art professor and interim department head, disagrees."

The reporter Jason Nix quotes Mark Graham stating: "Mr. Arseneau might be abrasive in his approach, but a lot of the issues he raises are real issues. - The Rodin estate has been turned into a Rodin industry. It's not common in sculpture to keep reproducing an artist's work after his death the way we see with this artist."

DISNEYLAND VACATION OF RODIN'S ART
Additionally, the reporter wrote: "Like Arseneau, Graham takes issue with the use of the term 'original' to describe works produced after the Rodin's death." The reporter quotes AU art professor and interim department head Mark Graham stating: "The term 'original' is a stretch - a Rodin original is any version that was authorized by him or which had his input. With this, you're not seeing work that reflects Auguste Rodin's input. This exhibit is a Disneyland vacation of Rodin's art."

LAW, ETHICS AND THE VISUAL ARTS
On page 816-817 of Kluwer Law International’s published 1998 Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts, Third Edition by John Henry Merryman and Albert E. Elsen wrote about “Counterfeit Art.”[FN 61]

Under the subtitle “Truth,” the authors wrote: “The most serious harm that good counterfeits do is to confuse and misdirect the search for valid learning. The counterfeit objects falsifies history and misdirects inquiry.”[FN 62]

Additionally, under the subtitle “Resource Allocation,” the authors wrote: “Museum and art historical resources are always limited. What gets acquired, displayed, conserved and studied is the result of a continuous process of triage, in which some objects can be favoured only at the expenses of others. Counterfeit objects distort the process.”[FN 63]

Finally, under the subtitle “Fraud,” the authors wrote: “There remains the most obvious harm of all: counterfeit cultural objects are instruments of fraud. Most are created in order to deceive and defraud, but even “innocent” counterfeits can, and often will, be so used. The same considerations of justice and social order that make deliberate fraud of others kinds criminal apply equally to fraud through the medium of counterfeit art...”[FN 64]

CONCLUSION
What needs to be accomplished is the full and honest disclosure of all reproductions as -reproductions- by all museums, auction houses and art dealers. If the Laguna College of Art & Design and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation will give full and honest disclosure for all reproductions as: -reproductions- it would allow museum patrons to give informed consent on whether they wish to attend an exhibit of reproductions, much less pay the price of admission and/or [in this case] purchase $500 to $25,000 "Sponsorship Opportunities [as] tax deductible gifts."

But if these objects are not reproductions by definition and law, but -forgeries- with or without counterfeit signatures or inscriptions applied, much less posthumous, to create the illusion the artist created it, much less approved and signed it, then serious consequences of law may come into play for those who chose to misrepresent these -forgeries- for profit.

The reputations and legacy of living and past artists, present and future museum art patrons and the art-buying public deserve the re-establishment of the obvious; that the living presence and participation of the artist to once again be required, as it always should have been, to create the piece of art attributable to the artist if indeed it is attributed to them, much less purported to have been signed by them.

FOOTNOTES:
1. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62

2. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

3. www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101

4. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62

5. Ibid

6. p 661, Seventh Edition of Black’s Law Dictionary, © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

7. www.lagunacollege.edu/downloads/Procedures_Manual.pdf

8. HOW TO FIND THIS MUSEE RODIN QUOTE:
First, go to the www.musee-rodin.fr/welcome.htm website,
then under “Contents on the left column click on “Collections,”
once on new screen click on the “Meudon” button,
then scoll down new screen till you reach the photograph of
“Assemblage of two figures of Even and crouching women”
and then count fourteen lines down for the quote.

9. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)

10. 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

11. Ibid

12.Re: Rodin exhibition checklist request
From: Kerri Redeker (kredeker@lagunacollege.edu)
Sent: Mon 7/11/11 9:33 PM
To: gary arseneau (gwarseneau@hotmail.com)
1 attachment
Labels.pdf (71.0 KB)
Hi Gary,
Attached are the labels I created for the show. They have all the information of each piece.
Kerri

Rodin labels
From: Kerri Redeker (kredeker@lagunacollege.edu)
Sent: Thu 7/21/11 5:54 PM
To: gary arseneau (gwarseneau@hotmail.com)
1 attachment
91520 LCAD 14 Labels.pdf (69.7 KB)
--
Kerri Lei Redeker
Executive Assistant to the Academic Deans
Laguna College of Art + Design
949-376-6000 ext. 240

13. page 285 in the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s “Observations on Rodin and His Founders” essay, published in the National Gallery of Art’s published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

14. http://www.lagunacollege.edu/news.php?id=62

15. © 1988 by Ste Nlle des Editions du Chene, Translation copyright © by Emily Read, ISBN 0-8050-1252-4

16. p 285 in the former Musee Rodin curator Monique Laurent’s “Observations on Rodin and His Founders” essay, published in the National Gallery of Art’s published 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

17. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html

18. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)

19. www. cantorfoundation.org/ Education/guide5.html

20. www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html

21. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

22. Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, © Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris

23. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/About/about3.html

24. Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundations: Rodin: Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, Working Checklist July 23, 1997, Nevada Museum of Art, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 435, Los Angeles, California 90067, 310 277-4600

25. Copyright 2001 by the Association of Art Museum Directors, All rights reserved, Printed in the United States of America, ISBN 1-880974-02-9

26. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html

27. Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, © Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris

28. © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc., ISBN 0-19-513380-3 (cloth)

29. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

30. Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, © Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris

31. p 281, "An Original in Sculpture" essay by Jean Chatelain, professor at the University of Paris and former director of the Museums of France, 1981 Rodin Rediscovered ISBN 0-89468-001-3 (pbk)

32. [copy forward by email from a newspaper source]
“SUMMARY: AUTHORIZED POSTHUMOUS CASTING OF THE WORK OF AUGUSTE RODIN

“All works in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection and Cantor Foundation Collection are original Rodins. Some of these were made during Rodin’s lifetime, others were made after he died and according to his explicit wishes and instructions to the government of France.

“In the early part of the 19th century, the creation of sculpture became a large-scale enterprise. Growing cities and an expanding middle class created new patrons and markets for modern sculpture. Advances in the techniques for creating editions in bronze allowed for the production of a great number of high quality examples. Auguste Rodin achieved success as an artist within this environment and naturally tailored his subjects as well as his output to satisfy an increasing demand for examples of this most popular works. During his lifetime, Rodin sometimes licensed commercial foundries to cast unlimited editions of his works. Certain foundries were even given the discretion to enlarge or reduce the size of the original model according to the demands of the market. Thousands of sculptures were produced by foundries that would make new casts without hesitation whenever there were customers for them. (There were, for example, more than 300 casts of The Kiss, in different dimensions, produced during Rodin’s lifetime.)
“Throughout his lifetime, Rodin was keenly interested in the broad dissemination of his work. He employed a number of assistants to make plaster casts from clay sculptures. These plasters were exhibited and also were provided to foundries so that they could, in turn, use them to produce casts in bronze. Rodin generally did not supervise the steps of casting his bronzes as they emerged from the foundries that had contracts to produce large quantities of his works.
“In 1916, Rodin willed his entire estate, including his artistic property and the right to continue to cast his work posthumously, to France. The French government’s agent who oversees this is the Musée Rodin. Since Rodin’s death in 1917, the Musée has been casting sculptures either from the molds left by the artist or from molds taken from his plasters. The Musée Rodin continued to use the Alexis Rudier foundry until it closed in 1953; after this the bronzes were cast at the foundry of George Rudier until 1983. More recently, the Coubertin Foundry has been used by the Musée Rodin because of its high standards of craftsmanship. People knowledgeable in the field are confident that Rodin fully understood the process he authorized and trusted his executors when he allowed them to cast bronzes from his original molds and models after his death.

“Efforts have been made in France by the Musée Rodin and in the United States by the College Art Association to ensure the quality and authenticity of posthumous casts, as well as their accurate identification as such. In 1956, the casting of each of Rodin’s works was limited by French law to twelve examples.
"Indeed, three of Rodin’s most important commissions, The Gates of Hell, the Monument to Balzac, and the Monument to Victor Hugo were, to his great disappointment, not cast during his lifetime. However, the right that he designated in his will for posthumous casting by his estate has made it possible for these commissions to be realized after his death as they had been intended. Thus the 20th and 21st century public and generations of artists and students have been able to see them.

“A primary mission of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation is to make work of Auguste Rodin available to a broad public audience through the organization and support of exhibitions, scholarship, and publications associated with the artist and his work.”

33. Copyright © Bena Mayer, Executrix of the Estate of Ralph Mayer, 1991, ISBN 0-06-461012-8 (pbk.)

34. Volume 2, Musee Rodin: 972-2-9014-2890-9, RMN: 978-2-7118-4941-3, © Musee Rodin Paris, 2007, 19, boulevard des Invalides, 75007 Paris

35. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/rbrz.html

36. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html

37. Ibid

38. HOW TO FIND THIS MUSEE RODIN QUOTE:
First, go to the www.musee-rodin.fr/welcome.htm website,
then under “Contents on the left column click on “Collections,”
once on new screen click on the “Meudon” button,
then scoll down new screen till you reach the photograph of
“Assemblage of two figures of Even and crouching women”
and then count fourteen lines down for the quote.

39. http://www.cantorfoundation.org/Rodin/Bronze/casting1.html

40. www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101 - § 106A. Rights of certain authors to attribution and integrity37 (a) Rights of Attribution and Integrity. — Subject to section 107 and independent of the exclusive rights provided in section 106, the author of a work of visual art — (1) shall have the right — (A) to claim authorship of that work, and (3) The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not apply to any reproduction,

41. www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101 - § 101. Definitions2 A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction

42. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=35364124403+2+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

43. Sculpture Review (ISSN 0747-5248) is published quarterly by the National Sculpture Society, Inc., 117 Avenue fo the Americas, New York, NY 10036, 212 7645645

44 © 1998 Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, ISBN: 1 85894 071 0 (exhibition paperback)

45. Hard copy of this telephone conversation was OVERNIGHTED by U.S. Postal Service (Tracking No. EE43307188US) on September 23, 1999 to Ruth Butler 41 Holden Street Cambridge, MA 02138-2038

46. Copyright © 1976 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Trade edition: ISBN 087923-157-2

47. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

48. Ibid

49. http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html

50. http://www.presentwithease.com/podcast.html

51.http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html

52. Ibid

53. ibid

54. Ibid

55. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

56. Ibid

57. http://www.presentwithease.com/tanisshortt.html

58. Ibid

59. Ibid

60. © 1999 By West Group, ISBN 0314022864

61. © Kluwer Law International 1998, ISBN 90-411-0697-9

62. Ibid

63. Ibid 


64. Ibid



ADDENDUM:

[LCAD'S JULY 11, 2011 CHECKLIST]  

The Benedictions
Modeled 1894
This cast: cast number and edition size unknown
Georges Rudier Foundry
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Saint John The Baptist Preaching
Modeled about 1880
This cast: cast number and edition size unknown, cast in 1925
Alexis Rudier Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection

Ovid’s Metamorphoses
About 1885-89
This cast: cast number, edition size and date of cast unknown
Perzinka Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Tragic Muse
Modeled 1894-96
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Torso Of The Walking Man
Modeled 1878-79
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 10 in an edition of 12 in 1979
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Idyll Of Ixelles
Modeled 1885
This cast: 4/8
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Sphinx On A Column
Modeled 1889 or later
This cast: III/IV
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Illusions Received By The Earth (The Fallen Angel)
Modeled 1895
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 7 in an edition of 8 in 1983
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection

The Night (Single Figure) (aka Standing Female
Nude Combing Her Hair)
Modeled after 1898
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 5 in an edition of 12 in1973
Georges Rudier Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

The Night (Double Figure)
Modeled after 1898
This cast: Musée Rodin cast I/IV in 1983
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Dance Movement ‘D’
Modeled about 1910-11
This cast: Marked No. 1, edition size and date unknown
Unknown Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Venus (aka Aphrodite)
Modeled about 1888
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 9 in an edition of 12 in 1978
Godard Foundry

Ecclesiastes
Modeled before 1899
This cast: Musée Rodin cast II/IV in 1995
Godard Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

Sorrow
Modeled 1889
This cast: Musée Rodin cast 1 in an edition of 8 in 1983
Coubertin Foundry
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection