Free Software is a historical development, a set of principles, and a set of possibilities. Free Software projects have converged on the methodology that Raymond describes as Open Source because of this. To describe this methodology as “commons based peer production” causes further confusion. There are no peers in a Free Software project. If contributions are deemed to be of acceptable quality, they are added to the project by its appointed gatekeepers. If not, they are rejected and advice given. This methodology is a structured and exclusive one, but it is meritocratic. Any contribution of sufficient quality can be accepted, and if someone makes enough such contributions they themselves may gain the trust required to become a gatekeeper.

... and...

It is therefore the condition of Freedom rather than the condition of Open Source that art should aspire to. Prior to the extension of copyright to cover art as well as literature, art was implicitly free. The physical artefacts of art were expensive to own and difficult or impossible to transport. But the content of art was free to use. Michaelangelo could rip off christian and pagan imagery to paint a ceiling, generations of artists could riff on the theme of the cruxifiction, and anyone could carve a statue of Venus. The representational freedom of artists, part of which is the freedom to depict and build or comment on existing culture, to continue the conversation of culture, is the freedom of art.

With photography and now electronic media, copyright and trademarks have increasingly restricted the artists freedom to continue the conversation of culture. Where once artists could paint gods and kings, they must now be careful not to paint chocolate and the colour purple or they will infringe Cadbury’s trademark. And new computer technology makes it possible to physically lock artists out of mass media imagery, closing off part of the world from art’s freedom of representation.

All this is followed by a great call-to-action as a set of bullet points.

We have been burning the midnight oil to get the new City Hall Art Collection at the John A. Wilson Building framed (done), installed (Oct 25), with support materials all ready for an Opening Reception (Oct 31). We thought you'd be ready for an update, so please read this carefully.

Opening Reception
Opening Reception October 31st from 5-7P
Hey, it’s City Hall. We want to fill it up. So you are free to invite anyone that you’d like to join us for the reception on Tuesday, October 31st. To facilitate your e-invitations, we’ve attached a PDF version of the postcard invitation. We are requesting an RSVP to get a count of how many visitors to expect. Please invite as many people as you would like.

Some nitty-gritty info:

• have your peeps RSVP to CAROLYN.PARKER@DC.GOV OR 202-724-2042
• All persons MUST show photo ID to enter this building
• There are a number of parking garages nearby, but we highly recommend public transportation.
• Your guests should enter through the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance.
• YOU should enter through the D Street entrance (around back) and sign in at the VIP Center.
• Remarks at 6:00 means you should try to get there early — you may arrive as early as 4:30 for sign-in.