BUYER BEWARE

MENTOR HUEBNER was a prolific artist and turned out literally thousands of designs. He is known around the world and is considered an Icon in the Motion Picture Industry. His peers call him "The King of the Illustrators." Globally renowned, Ridley Scott, a man of huge artistic integrity, calls Mentor, "The Patron Saint of the Illustrators".

Mentor was an innovator. He never 'copied' anyone's work or followed anyone's lead. He was filled to overflow with creativity, talent, remarkable ability and a never ending parade of ideas.

He is an Icon in the film industry. His art work and his name are often 'borrowed' by lessor talents, and although it's said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, there are certain limits. For instance, one pretty strong limitation is the Copy Right Law.

If work is 'imitated' in a learning process -- good. If it's imitated and then passed off as having been accomplished by Mentor, and it isn't his work, that's a big "No. No."

But what if someone didn't imitate Mentor's work, because they haven't the expertise to accomplish it ~ and instead merely placed Mentor's name on their own 'art'? That's not the same as saying 'his' work is theirs. That's a little different. I've seen this done. What's that type of 'fakery' called? I think it's called, "Looking for trouble".

E-Bay told me that they were able to only handle an illegal swiping of someone's creative effort. Like when a 'swiper' identifies someone else's art as their own. Plagiarism. It's better known. That's a more standard method of 'stealing'. But they were mystified as to what to do if the art was said to belong to the artist and didn't. They couldn't understand why anyone would want to 'give' credit instead of take it. Well, I could understand that. I could very much understand that. It's stealing a name. The E-Bay man in New York said "Get a lawyer". I did.

Mentor was a masterful Pro at producing all forms of art. He could Paint and draw in any style. And along with his 'regular-ordinary-run-of-the-mill-day to day' spectacular Conceptual Designs, for his Motion Picture work, he was also frequently asked to 'imitate' the work or style of a Master, for use on camera. As a sort of a prop that was part of the story line. Mentor could do anything a Producer requested. He was very good, he was an expert, he was disciplined, and he could produce work that ran the gamut of all the art styles throughout the centuries. But that's different. He didn't pass off a van Gogh done for a movie, as a real van Gogh, and then try to sell it. Nor did the Producers or the Motion Picture Studios sell a fraudulent van Gogh.

When Mentor died, March 19, 2001, at dawn, almost within minutes, his name appeared on websites, everywhere. That night, feeling lost, I scanned the Internet looking for his name and found it listed several thousands of times. The links grew as time went on.

Most of the sites that linked to his name, displayed warm sentiments. They expressed admiration, and were clearly wanting only to pay tribute to him and to his talent. I am greatly touched by all the spontaneous outpourings. Mentor would have gotten quite a kick out of the goings on.

But I found a couple of others that shocked me.

His death was communicated around the world, through the Industry Trade newspapers and magazines and word of mouth through Production Location Crews. I was bombarded by emails, phone calls, letters and cables. Everyone offered condolences. Evidently his personality and his art work and his specific movies had struck a nerve. He wasn't a lead actor. So what was it?

Well, first of all I think it was because he was a 'Real Artist'. The kind of artist we read about in books and see depicted in movies. He was a living breathing, real live Kirk Douglas, living his own personal true life version of Van Gogh's, "LUST FOR LIFE". Mentor was a romantic character. And for all his 'realness' he was nevertheless 'unreal' to many people. Fans saw him in a certain light of fantasy as did fellow artists, from both of Mentor's Fields: Fine Arts and Films.

The World-Wide sincere and heartfelt words and prayers expressed in his honor, through the vehicle of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Judaic faiths, gave our family tremendous spiritual comfort. I was surprised at the diversification of his 'fans', and quite impressed that they were scattered all about, in the far distant corners of the world. Buddhists in Japan, Hindus in Michigan, Catholics in Alhambra and Jews in New York, all prayed for him. An unusual assortment of 'natives' from here and there seem to know him. For some reason when I heard that he had fans in New Zealand blew my mind. Another group that caused me to become emotional, was a BLADE RUNNER Fan Club that organized watching the film in his honor at the same time, around the world. Mentor had a lot of fans.

There were many strangers who only knew him through his movies. But there were many people who had met him face to face. Mentor's 250 Feature Films, 50 Solo Art Exhibits, movie locations around the world, and teaching drawing (for fun) at prestigious art institutes for 25 years, produced a lot or contacts. He met many several hundreds of people. He was well liked. At his funeral the church was packed.

But, as always, when someone like Mentor leaves us, not all the 'mourners' are altruistic. A very short time later it came to my attention that some people were attempting to capitalize upon his popularity. A lot of art showed up. Everywhere.

If you find yourself about to purchase a work of art that is said to have been created by Mentor ~ feel free to ask me about its validity. I will happily authenticate it. Of course casually, and without any Certified Documentation. But my approval will be a plus and sufficient inspiration for your expenditure. I can't promise to do this indefinitely. I may have to stop helping if it gets too out of hand. I am a writer and I need to write. But I feel strongly about doing this at this time.

I suggest that first you photograph the work in a very good light. Have the seller do this for you. Then scan it. I would appreciate it if you copy and paste the image into an email. Please don't send attachments or downloads. I won't open them. Just simple emails. And if they are authentic, the seller won't hesitate to help you. They will want the proof too.

I will be able to tell you if Mentor worked on a particular production or not, or did or did not create the drawing or painting being considered.

If you find Mentor's artwork for sale on any other website -- question it. No painting of Mentor's is ever sold from any other website. Not ever. That's proof right there that it isn't his work. The Motion Picture Designs you discover, may or may not be his and may or may not be Studio Xeroxes. And believe me, the posters on so many sites, attributed to him, aren't. He never in a million years would have created Posters of Doorways or Gates from around the world. That sort of thing would have bored him out of his mind.

Many times Mentor's work was 'ripped off', and we wouldn't know how. We'd find his art in Art Galleries, Auction Houses, and huge Painting Shows, in places like the Pasadena Civic Center or the Palladium in Hollywood. We were surprised they were openly being sold without our knowledge. The Australian Director, Bruce Berseford (Driving Miss Daisy) purchased one of Mentor's paintings, from a show of this type. A highly respected exhibit. We were glad he was the one who lucked into it. But we had no idea how it got there. It was authentic. But some are not.

Sometimes, someone would try get a job in the Film Industry with bits and pieces of Mentor's art work that had been obtained in devious ways. It's sort of complimentary. Job hunters, wanting to work in a Studio Art Department, would show a Producer Mentor's work as their own. A Producer would call and say, "Hey, Mentor, a guy was in today looking for a job with your drawings....."

Mentor's work is clearly recognizable. Producers and Directors who are familiar with it don't mistake it. The way an artist paints and draws is as unique as handwriting. It's as unique as fingerprints. Mentor's work is very distinctive.

On the Internet, in Art Galleries, and even in some Antique Shops, some of Mentor's art work, his real art work, has surfaced. It's come out of all the corners and trunks and back closets and off of living room walls. It's because everyone believes that after an artist dies the value of his work increases as it's finite.

This idea has energized disreputable types. Even though much of the art circling around could be Mentor's work. But some of it could not be. Although if salvaged from studio trash, and merely discarded roughs, and unfinished, still it is his work. But sadly some are fakes. These fakes most likely are the work of artists who lack integrity, have some art know how, and want to capitalize upon Mentor's reputation. Sometimes they copy his work, either free hand or by tracing over a copy. Many Studio Xeroxes always floated around the production companies and were easy to accumulate.

I don't want any of that stuff credited to my husband. And it's not fair when an enthusiastic fan who admires Mentor's work and wants to build a collection ~ gets cheated.

As soon as I see an example of art attributed to Mentor, I can immediately know if it is or isn't his. I invite you to contact me for advice about his work. I want to preserve the integrity of Mentor's image.

During an unspecified period of time, I shall continue to advise uninformed art lovers and novice collectors, whether a work of art is Mentor's creation or not, through email only and without any charge for my assistance.

Email: Louise@MentorHuebnerArt.com

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Louise Huebner. (c) 2003

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