The FAKE issue. A self examination.

bagnshoofetish

bagnshoofetish

Oh. Gee.
O.G.
Feb 12, 2006
33,558
3,108
#1
There are so many threads in this forum about fakes and they always get so very heated. I think its because it is a topic we are all very passionate about because of our love for bags and the real deal. I was a victim of purchasing fakes before I found this forum and have learned sooooo much and am so grateful for the education and support I have received. But it got me to thinking, do we become hypocrites because we are so against fake bags but actually end up consuming other "fake" products we choose to look the other way about just because they aren't bags?
For example -
  • do you have "knock off" furniture in your house? Say a "fake" mission style chair or lamp?
  • do you own a "knock off" sculpture that you would never be able to afford from the original artist?
  • do you own a reproduced oil painting mass produced in China? (I am guilty of this!)
  • do you download music for free? (this hits very close to home for us as my husband is a musician/songwriter and his royalty checks have suffered from this - illegal downloaders are essentially stealing from him*)
I am not talking about legitimate licensed products (where the money goes to the original artists family/estate) but about products where designs are blatantly ripped off.
I guess my point is that its hard to stay perfectly "pure" on this subject because we may passionately argue against fake bags but what other offenses are we unwilling to acknowledge?
Just some food for thought....

*to clarify because not everyone understands intellectual property laws - when you buy music in any form (vinyl, CD, cassette, download, etc) you are purchasing a "license", a sort of permission to replay and enjoy the music/movie. You do not own the music on the CD, you just own the plastic. So many people don't realize this.
 
#3
I wouldn't consider any of the stuff you mention to be "fakes" or "knock offs". I mean, clearly I am not buying the original Picasso or Henry Moore in the museum gift shop, and no one is trying to mislead me that I am. Nor would I tell visitors in my home that my Mission-style furniture came directly from Gustav Stickley's studio.( BTW, "Mission" is a style created during the Art & Crafts movement--it's not a brand name.) I do have a reproduction Monet on my living room wall, and as it happens, a real Manet. I don't consider my Monet print to be a "knock off" or a "fake" or a "rip off". It is, as I said, a reproduction, which is not, to me, the same thing at all. Nor do I consider owning it to be an "offense".

So, no---I do not believe I am a hypocrite at all for disliking FAKE designer bags but at the same time owning REPRODUCTION furniture and art. I think the difference is, one thing is trying to pass itself off as something it's not, while the other is an acknowleged copy of the original.

Does this make sense?
 
#4
Interesting!

No, I am always willing to pay more for the highest quality I can find. Unfortunately my checkbook doesn't like this, but for me it's simple: I would rather have quality over quantity any day of the week. This translates to no fake anything.
 
#5
Okay, okay . . . the guilt! I have downloaded music in the past before I realized it was illegal (when it first started-Napster), but now I pay for my downloads. I promise! I have deleted everything that wasn't paid for. I'm 100% legit.

I can't think of anything else I have that would be considered a knock-off, with the exception of the fake LV bag I was given as a gift but don't use. I probably have lots of things that were copied that I don't even know about!
 
#6
I think the first 2 can be categorized as "inspired" rather than fake.:yes:
The reproduction of paintings are fine because they are not claiming to be the real thing even at first glance and copyrights (?) ran out long ago.

Pirated music and software are, on the other hand, more similar to counterfeit bags. I guess people feel better about it because it's free (therefore not benefitting terrorism) because little children aren't being exploited. It doesn't make it more correct, but surely less guilt-inducing.

bagnshoofetish said:
  • do you have "knock off" furniture in your house? Say a "fake" mission style chair or lamp?
  • do you own a "knock off" sculpture that you would never be able to afford from the original artist?
  • do you own a reproduced oil painting mass produced in China? (I am guilty of this!)
  • do you download music for free? (this hits very close to home for us as my husband is a musician/songwriter and his royalty checks have suffered from this - illegal downloaders are essentially stealing from him*)
Click to expand...
 
#7
BTW cola262 I love the piece of art in your avatar- pardon my ignorance, is that "yours" as in you drew/painted it, or is it another artists'?
 
#8
I have some as you would call "fake" artwork, but it's kind hard to get the originals of certain pieces, even if you have the money. Besides, some orignal art works, are huge. I like what I like. Seems I tend to like rare things. hehe Thus, I buy as you call the "knock offs". I know it's wrong, but I used to download music, too. I've seen bootleg movies at friends house. (I never buy any though because the quality is awful. I wonder how many people buy bootleg DVDs? I see a woman selling them by my shopping center all the time).
 
#9
DH and I chatted about this and agree the line of "fake" v. "real" is how it's marketed:

if you invite your friends over to see your "real" Monet and it's a copy, then that is a fake, same as a fake Chloe, etc.

if you bought a painting at an estate sale and they sold it as a genuine Monet and it's not, then it's a fake

however, if you bought a reproduction Monet knowing it was a print, etc and told your friends that asked that it was a print, then it's not "fake".

:shrugs:


bagnshoofetish said:
There are so many threads in this forum about fakes and they always get so very heated. I think its because it is a topic we are all very passionate about because of our love for bags and the real deal. I was a victim of purchasing fakes before I found this forum and have learned sooooo much and am so grateful for the education and support I have received. But it got me to thinking, do we become hypocrites because we are so against fake bags but actually end up consuming other "fake" products we choose to look the other way about just because they aren't bags?
Click to expand...
 
#11
I think I clarified what is a fake painting and what is not. a fake painting is something that is recreated and not licensed throught the estate. if you bought a print, say at MOMA, you are buying a legitimate licensed copy. If you are buying a recreation from say one of these mass produced companies based in China, you are buying an illegal reproduction. Does that make any sense? I want to make sure everyone knows that I know the difference.
 
#13
i try to honor the original work of the original artist, whenever possible. i don't illegally download music, all of mine comes from itunes or from the artist's website. mostly i buy cds because i get a discount where i work. if i knew a painting to not be officially licensed, i wouldn't buy it, and all of my prints come from museum shops and are souveniers of seeing the originals. as a college student, all of my furniture is fairly mismatched and from what i know of furniture, doesn't rip off anyone's previous work (it's too tacky for that, ha). when i begin to buy furniture of my own, i've got to say that i probably don't know enough to stop myself from buying something 'inspired,' but if i were going to buy something that claimed to be from a famous furniture maker and i had any doubts about the place i was buying it from, i'd have to appraised before i bought it.

i'm a writer, so the issue of copywright hits home for me.
 
#14
Right now, no lying, I download free music all the time- and by free, I think it is actually 'illegal' or stolen. I just do it, and yes it is then 'fake' by some meaning, so I do listen to fake music often.

No worries, this is a good thread shoo!
 
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