Report: Experiencing Creative Commons through Live Drawing
A Massive Painting?
The “iSummit 2008”, held at the Sapporo Convention Center for three days, ended last Friday, August 1, with many participants and one massive painting to show for it.
Looking at the photograph of the closing party below, you must be wondering, “What is that huge painting hanging from the ceiling?”
Group photo of the iSummit2008 closing party.
Such massive scale catches the eye.
This painting is the fruits of labor from the “Live drawing session” at the iSummit.
The iSummit is an international meeting of members concerned with the use of copyrights, sharing copyrighted material, and rules involving such endeavors. The “Live drawing session” is fundamentally a giant “doodle experiment”. Professional artists, attendees, and children all participated in this borderless and boundless event. 
Children and professionals doodling side by side.
Dozens of hunched over figures creating one painting with pastel crayons and markers.
Adding to others’ drawings, changing its’ form, getting ideas from others and drawing differently… These were just a few examples of creative collaboration between these artists who experienced ways of sharing copyrights.
The finished product was a painting measuring 8.1 meters by 11 meters(26 feet by 36 feet), and was displayed at the Convention Center.
The Professional Evaluation
Three young artists living in Sapporo, Kiyoshi Takahashi, Shotaro Hiratsuka, and Mikio Taka of S-Air, a group supporting Artist In Residence, and the Gold Sponsor of the iSummit2008, loftwork Inc., collaborated to make this event happen.
Kiyoshi Takahashi, leader of the drawing session, specializes in installation art.
“The exciting thing was, you couldn’t tell what it would look like until the very end,” he says.
The participating children had an endless well of energy, and it was all focused on filling this giant canvas. Their creative ideas “Really gave the project momentum,” says Takahashi.
Using the wide-open spaces of Sapporo, Takahashi wishes to create large-scale art while living as an installation artist. He says “It would be interesting to expand this idea, making the canvas larger, involving more people whether they’re old or young, and hold this event every year.”
From Sapporo To A New Stage
The creative engine behind this event and director of loftwork Inc., Chiaki Hayashi, is also an advisory board member at Creative Commons, Japan. “Each participant affected each other, giving and receiving energy from one another, and when they step back to see what they have made, they realize they’ve created art,” she remarked. Satisfied, she added, “We were able to materialize the idea of “remix” which is at the core of Creative Commons.”
Grasping the concepts set forth by Creative Commons is not an easy task for the general public, but through this drawing session, many were able to experience these concepts first hand.
I asked Hayashi, who gave a presentation in Croatia for last year’s iSummit, what she thought of iSummit2008.
“This iSummit felt like it was shown on a different stage. The attendees of iSummit used to be mostly specialists in the field of law and copyrights, the sort of people who all open their Mac Books on cue at the beginning of every speech. Now, there are many specialists, creators, users, a very wide range of professionals. (Laughing) There were several PC users this time, too, and many people didn’t bring a computer. Also, major corporations within Japan sponsored the event, signaling the growth of Creative Commons.” Says Hayashi. She also commented on the diversity of participants in relation to the characteristics of Sapporo City. “Sapporo has a generosity that accepts any and every outsider. In this neutral and generous environment, creativity flourishes easily.”
Chiaki Hayashi of loftwork, Inc.
Also holds an advisory board member position at Creative Commons, Japan.
“Does Creative Commons make creators happy?”
I asked as my last question.
“Yes!” She said enthusiastically, and continued as follows.
“Until now, copyrights have always taken the strategy of limiting use, but we believe the key to success lies in allowing a wide range of uses. By creating strict copyright rules and not publishing art freely to receive the maximum exposure, creators struggle to make a living. Protecting their rights while still making things open requires us to have a solid infrastructure and rules. Creative Commons provides both of these, and presents an opportunity for creators to connect to the world globally.”
Creative Commons and iSummit on a new stage… If the door to success was opened here in Sapporo, we couldn’t be happier. We all hope to see creators launching off from Sapporo, their art open for all to see.
Article written by Eiichi Sato
Translation by David Neptune
