SAN FRANCISCO ART HOTEL ORDERED TO ‘CEASE AND DESIST’ SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 29, 2005 – The Hotel des Arts is a small hotel in San Francisco which showcases the original artwork of emerging artists from around the world. The hotel’s PAINTED ROOMS exhibitions have received international acclaim as one-by-one, the 51 rooms of the hotel are transformed into works of art. To date, nearly 30 of the hotel’s rooms have been transformed, painted floor to ceiling by some of the premier emerging + underground artists in the world. The artists have been given free reign to create magic, and the project has been widely lauded as an amazing showcase of new artistic talent. One of the PAINTED ROOMS in the art hotel features a series of hand painted floor-to-ceiling murals by San Francisco pop artist Tim Gaskin. Gaskin, whose artwork frequently juxtaposes celebrity icons with the iconography of contemporary advertising, included images of pop sensation Madonna on the walls of his room, superimposed on patterns + logos from luxury product manufacturer Louis Vuitton. The resultant work of original fine art is at once an homage, a commentary, and a critique of consumer culture and celebrity, and has received a great deal of press coverage and attention. Most people liked it. Louis Vuitton’s ANTICOUNTERFEITING DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAS did not. The Hotel des Arts recently received a CEASE AND DESIST LETTER from Louis Vuitton. The global multinational demanded that the hotel “remove all infringing depictions of the LV trademark from your walls.” The letter further requested the "name and address" of the person who created "each mural painted," and threatened legal action for "trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and trademark dilution." Louis Vuitton's ANTICOUNTERFEITING DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAS further threatened "preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, an award of treble damages for willful infringement, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees and costs." They also suggested that "you may be subject to criminal prosecution under the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984; and that individual participants may themselves be personally liable for damages." The Hotel des Arts refuses to be intimidated. “Removing the LV trademark from the walls of the hotel would necessitate destroying an original piece of fine art, and that is NOT something we are even going to consider,” said the Hotel des Arts' Richard Singer. “Works of artistic expression are clearly protected by the First Amendment, and we absolutely refuse to be censored by a multinational corporation and their teams of lawyers.” John Doffing, whose START SOMA art gallery curates the PAINTED ROOMS exhibitions in the Hotel des Arts, echoes these sentiments. “We are taking a stand here, to prevent the chilling effect that such corporate intimidation could have on emerging artists and their creative freedom. They are suggesting criminal prosecution and/or potential financial ruin to an emerging artist for PAINTING A PICTURE ON A WALL! Tim’s artwork, whether Louis Vuitton likes it or not, is part of an artistic tradition of appropriation, commentary, and fair use that includes artists like Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, and of course, Andy Warhol. Not to mention the incontrovertible applicability of the First Amendment." “I am just happy that I am not fighting this alone,” observed artist Tim Gaskin. “I want to spend my time creating new art, and not have to worry about corporate thought police telling me what I can or cannot paint.” The Tim Gaskin room at the Hotel des Arts will be open the first week in May for a VERY special public exhibition. We are calling it THE CEASE + DESIST ART SHOW. Visitors are encouraged to take pictures - just in case! for additional information, kindly contact info@STARTsoma.com. | 
