One Canadian artist Peter von Tiesenhausen, a sculptor, painter, and video/installation artist based in Demmitt, Alberta, has managed to keep pipeline developers off his land for 17 years through a combination of art and legal acrobatics.
In 1996, Peter claimed legal copyright over his land as a work of art, forcing pipeline developers to do expensive rerouting around it ever since.
Land developers were disrupting his day and keeping him from making his art, so he began charging them $500 an hour to meet with him. They are asking for fewer meetings since.
He has beaten industry conglomerates at their own bureaucratic game with his art.
As an artist in Canada you automatically have copyright over your own creations for up to 50 years after your death. So that was the part of that law that he decided to enforce.
They offered him a huge sum of money, but he declined. He stood fast and his sales started to go up and within a short period of time made the amount they offered through the sale of his work.
Instead of compromising, he has drawn a line in the sand, or more accurately, a fence on his land, for his life time plus 50 years. In doing so, he has not only created a legacy with his art, and his land, he has also created a legacy of courage, strength and principals. He has shown us that one person can make a big difference, and that small battles can be won against the establishment and mega corporations with deep pockets.
Read more about Peter, his wife and children, their long term health problems, his fight with authorities, and their attempts to harass him.
In 1996, Peter claimed legal copyright over his land as a work of art, forcing pipeline developers to do expensive rerouting around it ever since.
Land developers were disrupting his day and keeping him from making his art, so he began charging them $500 an hour to meet with him. They are asking for fewer meetings since.
He has beaten industry conglomerates at their own bureaucratic game with his art.
As an artist in Canada you automatically have copyright over your own creations for up to 50 years after your death. So that was the part of that law that he decided to enforce.
They offered him a huge sum of money, but he declined. He stood fast and his sales started to go up and within a short period of time made the amount they offered through the sale of his work.
Instead of compromising, he has drawn a line in the sand, or more accurately, a fence on his land, for his life time plus 50 years. In doing so, he has not only created a legacy with his art, and his land, he has also created a legacy of courage, strength and principals. He has shown us that one person can make a big difference, and that small battles can be won against the establishment and mega corporations with deep pockets.
Read more about Peter, his wife and children, their long term health problems, his fight with authorities, and their attempts to harass him.
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