My
pieces Black and White address related issues of authorship and ownership. Black and White are paired columns made up of compact discs containing
illegally downloaded files containing the music of Metallica’s “Black Album” and
the Beatles’ “White Album”. To access the music one has to insert the disc into
a computer, uncompress the file, and load the songs into iTunes before listening.
Following these steps might make
the listener an accomplice to copyright theft. However, the exact perpetrators
of this alleged crime are difficult to identify. Is the more guilty party the
person hosting the free music on the Internet, or the end user who put it onto
his or her computer? Black and White exist in an unlimited edition and are made freely available so
that members of the public can “steal” the bands’ music. The links are made available here to encourage your participation.
