The question of appropriation in the name of art, is something that has been a painfully topical issue of not only the modern art scene. Because of the easy access almost everybody has to the internet, it is nowadays much easier to appropriate somebody else’s property, be it deliberately or unintentionally. In its core,the question of appropriation is of two kinds, moral and juridical.
As we have seen on the example of the Molotov Man, what is legal may not be inherently moral and vice versa. In regards the legal rights to the picture of this man, it is officially attributed to its taker, Susan Meiselas. On the other hand, where are the rights of the man captured in the mentioned still? In terms of copyright, they are more of a moral issue. Where the man is practically powerless, Meiselas has the right to say how and for what will this picture be used. She is the author, the owner, and from the point of view of law, the author is the responsible one for the decision making in regards to this immortalized fragment of history. And responsible, she is. Because she understands the story behind the photograph, in order to protect the faith of the man in the picture, she speaks up through the legal forms. She, in her own way tries to also advocate the moral aspect of the picture taking and its further use.
As Meiselas suggests, the photo of Molotov Man has been appropriated and his iconic form has been on many occasions employed for various campaigns. Moreover the photo has used as it suited the cause, without any consideration for the wishes and feelings of the man himself captured in the photo. Reading the article one gets the clear understanding he has been misused for various causes, that may have many times been against the man’s values. But does he have the right or power to refuse and speak up against these? Who is the one responsible for protecting his identity? It is impossible to control what will happen with images nowadays, as once they have been published, everybody can find their way to them on the internet and use them as he sees fit.