IGI features
Graphic Artists Guild Interview
Apr, 10, 2002
The Graphic Artists Guild is a US national union whose core purpose is to be a strong community of graphic artists that empowers and enriches its members through collective action. We talked to Steven R. Schubert, Executive Director of the GAG, about their aims and in particular how US illustrators rights are being compromised.
When was the Graphic Artists Guild first established?
1967 in Detroit Michigan.
Why was it seen as neccessary to create the GAG?
The illustrators in the automobile industry were unhappy with their pay and working conditions. they were members of the Society of Illustrators but were told SOI did not so advocacy work. So they started the Guild as a union of artists and actually went out on strike. Remember that in the 50’s and 60’s and well into the 70’s, illustration was the major advertising tool for autos.
What are the main aims of the GAG?
The financial empowerment and protection of the intellectual property of it’s members and all working artists in the USA and abroad. Artists are major factor in the success of a wide variety of commercial products and services. The Guild fights to insure that the creators get their deserved “piece of the action”.
How many members are there?
4,000 members in 13 Chapters. Twelve chapters are in US cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington, Chicago Illinois, Indianapolis Indiana, Boston Massachusetts, Albany NY, NYC, NY, Philadelphia, Washington/Baltimore and Atlanta. In addition, we have around 500 members in our “at large” chapter which includes our Canadian and European members.
Are design/advertising firms and organisations in the US supportive of the GAG?
Design and advertising firms are generally not supportive in that most of our membership are freelancers. We have a lot of small design firms but all Guild members must join as individuals. So if a firm wants to get involved, each of the employees must join on their own. Other organizations have their own survival issues. We work cooperatively on educational and legislative/policy issues as circumstances dictate. Personally, I and other Guild leaders attend a wide variety of activities sponsored and promoted by other organizations in the industry.
What are the most common problems individual creatives face in the US?
The most common problems are declining fees, competition from “royalty free” stock, copyright infringement and theft of images from the web.
How has the rise of stock illustration/photography houses affected the creative community in the US?
It has depressed prices and cut the number of primary assignment contracts. Art buyers can get things cheap and fast with none of the risk attached to commissioning a new image regarding meeting expectations etc.
The Guild will be teaming up with the ISpot/Showcase to create an artist friendly website devoted to illustration. Illustrators have been most affected as the number of stock photographs available exceeds 1,000,000 while illustration is only a drop in the bucket.
The Guild realizes that stock is here to stay and artists need to take advantage of it if they are to be able to survive. Therefore the Guild has stepped up to improve those chances.
Is the illustration community in the US particularly under threat?
Very much so. Advertising used to make up over 80% of illustration new work assignments, just 10-15 years ago. Today it is less than 10%. Art directors feel powerless in the face of the growing emphasis on the bottom line and the decreasing understanding of the power of quality illustration to change behavior and influence thinking.
Are there similar organisations to the GAG internationally?
None that cover all commercial artists as we do. Also, the Guild is the only organization that has as its core mission the advancement of the individual creator, not the advancement of the aesthetics of the field or anything else.
Recently the GAG has become a union. Why was this seen as neccesary?
It always was a union. The Guild’s corporate status reflects a guild not an association. The recent affiliation with UAW is what has changed. The Guild needed to be part of the larger union movement. In recent years, in response to the decline of automobile manufacturing jobs in the US, the United Auto Workers International embarked on a strategic initiative to broaden its membership to include Technical, Office and Professional workers (TOP). One of the first TOP locals was the National Writers Union. They are very similar to the Guild for freelance journalists and their president, Jonathan Tasini has had a recent US Supreme Court victory on behalf of creators against the NY Times for web use of their work. This new direction combined with the Guild’s need for a presence in Washington DC with the connections to make a difference in our legislative agenda was what led to the affiliation. In addition, the UAW provides direct cash subsidies for the Guild’s organizing efforts as well as training and technical assistance in such areas as strategic planning.
There have been some differences in approach and attitude between the GAG and the IPA (Illustrators Partnership of America) - have these been reconciled in order to progress the interests of the members of both groups?
The Guild represents a much broader swath of the commercial art world. The IPA is a smaller group without the Guild’s administrative infrastructure. We maintain cordial relations with the IPA. I have been to several meeting recently where they participated. One was a panel discussion on Stock at the Parson School of Design and I appeared along with Brad Holland. We also jointly signed a letter to Conde Nast Publications that accompanied over 400 protest letters concerning their contractual policies.
The Guild works with other organizations whenever we can to advance our mission. If an organization is working counter to what we understand as artist’s best interests, we let folks know.
Fully 1/2 of the IPA members are also Guild members and I have written many “posts” on a variety of web boards and the IPA newsletter supporting the idea of an IPA and other organizations for the various disciplines within the general Guild umbrella with their individual needs for focused communications, education, networking etc. Our general policy is to encourage people to join all the organizations they need to but all commercial artists should be part of the Guild.
Is it possible for international organisations to affiliate/allign formally with the GAG?
Yes. We have entertained a motion at our national convention to change our mission statement to include “international” as our scope rather than “national”. We welcome discussion that would form strategic alliances that advance the Guild’s mission of economic empowerment.
How can international associations co-operate to formulate and apply policy that benfits individual creatives in their own markets?
With the web, the market is global and so are the copyright and licensing arenas. The themes that are developed for successful advancement of artists rights and livelihood should be adapted and replicated wherever in the world they are needed. Only through cooperation and sharing can that occur.
Can the GAG advise individual illustrators how to deal with unfair contracts, yet maintain good working relationships?
Yes. A big part of the equation is understanding your power as an individual with a talent that helps the client make money or sway opinion etc. The other is in knowing that their are thousands of artists who have joined not just the organization, but the ethical standards espoused by the Guild.
There are times when the terms and conditions are added to absolute inflexibility on the clients part. It is then that good relations may not be the primary objective. Wherever possible, the Guild’s contract and mediation work is designed to create a win-win situation for all concerned.
As a union, is the GAG working with other trade movements internationally to eliminate sweatshop practices in developing countries? (much of the disney/barbie material etc., uses illustration as its main branding elements)
The affiliation with the UAW and through them to he AFL/CIO the main labor umbrella in the US, we are engaged in legislative and policy initiatives impacting the areas you mention. We also have a legal defense fund that has recently engaged in several lawsuits regarding copyright infringement on an international basis.
Visit The Graphic Artists Guild website at www.gag.org
