Paul Biro's version of Forensic Art Authentication

[DavidCP]

See the press release that has just gone up about Paul Biro and his so-called authentication of a possible Jackson Pollock painting. http://www.fineartregistry.com/about_FAR/press-release-10172007.php
This is just TOO MUCH!! First of all there's this whole deal about Teri Horton and her painting which also, supposedly has the exact same fingerprint on it that Biro found on the back of the Parkers' painting and which he says is an exact match of the one he found on a can in the Pollock Krasner House. How coincidental!
Now a real expert (Biro has no credentials that he cares to mention as a fingerprint examiner) checks out the same can at the Pollock Krasner house and declares the fingerprint on it to be "of no value for identification purposes."!!
Wait a minute! What does this mean for the one on the back of Teri Horton's painting? This painting which has been the subject of a whole movie produced by Harry Moses and his crew, masterminded by ex-con Tod Volpe! And appeared on 60 Minutes with all these photos showing how it's a match. Could there be a reason why Biro and Horton won't let a real fingerprint expert look at the painting? Just the mysterious Andre Turcotte who, per Teri Horton, insists on keeping a low profile and not being interviewed.
Did you know that there is detail in Biro's digitally processed image of the fingerprint on the can which is not in the original fingerprint. Tom Hanley, the examiner, has no idea how that detail could be produced from a blank. He has 30 years of fingerprint examination experience and credentials the length of your arm and also had his work side checked by another fingerprint expert. Now a couple of Photoshop experts are seeing if the detail is there to be brought out or if perhaps some other method was used to put it there.
And Fine Art Registry has now retained Pat Wertheim, one of the most eminent specialists in fingerprint forgery and fabrication to try to get to the bottom of what's going on here.
Meanwhile Biro has an article in the catalog for the Boston College Alex Matter "Pollock" paintings exhibition called Fingerprinting Jackson Pollock which is just smoke and mirrors. There are no known exemplars of Pollock's fingerprints. And the partial ones in the Pollock Krasner House (all examined by Tom Hanley) are useless for identification purposes. And the one print on the back of the Parkers' painting which is usable, doesn't match any of the ones in the PK House.
And now, according to this article in the New Yorker dated (somehow) 22 Oct 2007 http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/10/22/071022ta_talk_mcgrath Biro has agreed to check another man's possible Jackson Pollock paintings (Kevin Jamison). Lucky Jamison!
Won't SOMEONE say "Whoa! Something smells a bit fishy here!" and just check this man's credentials and insist that he open up his work to peer review like any real fingerprint examiner would do?
Is this society so full of suckers who just swallow the gobbledegook and get taken in by all the PR and the smoke and mirrors and never stop to actually look and ask questions?
Excuse me for sounding a little jaded but this whole Biro Pollock fingerprint saga just defies understanding.[quote]
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DavidCP

[DavidCP]

Here is a forum which is linking to our press release which seems to be attracting quite a bit of traffic:

http://www.metafilter.com/65687/Jackson-Pollacks-lost-painting
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DavidCP

[LadyG]

I went to the link that was suggested and there certainly is a lot of disagreement as to the authenticity of Teri's Find. However, I believe that most of the posts are missing the point altogether. I think that this Peter Paul Biro is a complete fraud and attempting to pass himself off as an expert.

He is involved with the seamy side of the art underworld, specifically Tod Volpe who spent several years in prison for art fraud. In fact this very Tod Volpe was very much responsible for the making of that horrible movie of Teri Horton and her dubious find These crooks are out to steal, plunder and rape whomever they can. The unfortunate part is that some in the so called elite art world are being taken in by the self-proclaimed "fingerprint forensic expert", Biro. Case in point BOSTON COLLEGE exhibit POLLOCK MATTERS.

Watch out Art World, the FOX IS IN THE HENHOUSE

[Cindy Hill]

Art owners who are hiring experts of any variety to examine their artworks for authentication or identification purposes should be wary of the word 'forensic' and take the time to learn what it means and what the qualifications are for a real expert in any given field. A 'forensic' expert, be it a forensic chemist, forensic fingerprint or other identification expert, etc., means an expert who has been certified -- in that particular field --as an expert witness in court. A court, at least in the United States, will NOT certify a fingerprint examiner (or chemist, or toolmark examiner, etc.) as an expert witness and permit him or her to testify in front of a jury about a matter unless they have the proper training, credentials, and certifications, and also unless the methods and techniques they utilize are those that follow protocols set by the certifying organizations in the field. Anyone can hang out a shingle and use the word 'forensic' in it -- but before you have ANYONE examine a painting or other artwork you own for fingerprints, for example, make sure that person is a Certified Latent PRint Examiner, with current training and certifications from the appropriate agencies and organizations, and that they follow approved protocols for photographing and collecting the prints they are comparing. Genuine, reliable experts will also make their original data available to colleagues for review; that's simply not only courtesy in the forensic science field, but also a safeguard against unscrupulous people trying to pass themselves off as experts.
True forensic experts have the ability to bring transparency, honesty, and integrity to the art world. The information gained from a fingerprint or a DNA sample embedded in a painting or sculpture can provide invaluable information that helps enhance the owner's, or public's, knowledge about that work. But if art brokers are going to hang out shingles referring to themselves as 'forensic' fingerprint experts and play on the public's recent fascination with CSI and other crime shows -- it's going to do a world of harm and no good at all.
This sudden bout of Pollock fingerprints appearing in the world reminds me of the middle-ages market for reliquaries. Yeah, maybe one of those boxes really DID have some saint's pinky knuckle in it -- but with the market stalls swimming in boxes containing pig bones pawned off as the 'real thing' how on earth would we ever know?
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Cindy Ellen Hill, Esq.
Attorney and Art Law Analyst

[DavidCP]

A video with Tom Hanley discussing the findings of his examination of the fingerprints reported by Biro to prove that the Parker painting was indeed by Jackson Pollock is done and will be posted on the Fine Art Registry website shortly. It is very informative!
Considering Biro states quite clearly that the fingerprint he found on the back of the Parker's painting is the same one he found on Teri Horton's painting, one wonders what 60 Minutes and the crew that concocted Who the &%$# is Jackson Pollock? will do now.
But there is more to come.
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DavidCP

[DavidCP]

We just got back from a visit to the Parker family on Long Island and a return visit to the Pollock Krasner House for further follow-up on this whole saga. This time we had three fingerprint experts present, one of them being Pat Wertheim, one of the world's foremost fingerprint examiners and an expert in fingerprint forgery and fabrication.
They will get to the bottom of this whole affair and we will publish the results.
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DavidCP

[arthound]

Well, isn't this all sort of interesting.

1. We have an art restorer (Peter Paul Biro) that has proclaimed himself a fingerprint expert, yet he has absolutely no training or other formal education that would qualify him as such.

2. We have the media and former producer for '60 Minutes', Harry Moses and company who made a movie on the subject and included Biro's unverified and unsubstantiated findings (except by the mysterious Andre Turcotte that Biro claims checks his work). Yeah, right. Where is this Turcotte now? Moses and everyone involved with the project clearly didn't do their homework in this case. Or perhaps this failure to vet Biro and his claims about the fingerprint are or were intentional on the part of everyone involved--a ploy--a scam--to sell the painting. All set up by mastermind and convicted felon, Tod Volpe--smoke and mirrors, folks, smoke and mirrors.

Harry Moses is an intelligent man. Did he ever ask the question: Is this fat cat, Biro, really what he claims to be? And what of Volpe? It's clear the media blitz surrounding the film, Who the F**k is Jackson Pollock, was just that, a media blitz bought and paid for. There were one or two journalists that smelled a rat, but no one went further to ferret out the truth. But never mind Fine Art Registry has picked up the ball and WILL do whatever it takes to get to the truth of the matter.

3. Let's not forget that we also have Frankie Brown--the artist that claims that the painting which is the subject of the movie quite possibly could have been authored by him. His requests to view the painting in person have been denied. Frank Brown, who resides in California would have copyrights and moral rights in this painting if it is indeed his. And California law provides for royalty payments on the resale of the painting.

4. We have Ellen Landau who has seemingly gone off the deep end of rationality and art scholarship in allowing a fox into the hen house so to speak. These so-called experts--filled with arrogance and self-importance are doing the art market a huge disservice by giving the likes of Biro the credibility he so desperately needs or wants. And it doesn't stop with Landau. Where is the responsibility with these experts? Or are they in it for the money and fame?

More later...

[DavidCP]

I received the following email from a FAR member and artist, Glen. He has researched the Pollock authentication, Biro, fractals, fingerprints, materials scene very thoroughly and is very knowledgeable:

[arthound]

[arthound]

I visited Biro's web site today and read his latest announcement.