The Monument to Victor Hugo, the 2,750-pound centerpiece, was never cast in bronze during Hugo's lifetime. Arseneau has argued that the posthumously cast sculpture should be called a ''reproduction,'' something that the Cantor Foundation and the four museums that are housing the exhibit have declined to do. Rachel Blackburn, executive director of the Cantor Foundation, argues that the dates on the various sculptures in the exhibition make it clear that many were cast after Rodin's death in 1917. They are thus posthumously cast, but that doesn't make them reproductions, she said. Instead, she argued, they are authorized originals, executed with the permission of the Musee Rodin, to which Rodin granted all rights, and done in conformity with the provisions of French law.
Casts are just like prints.
But Arseneau, who understands the principle well since he makes his living as a print-maker, insists that there is an important distinction, since Rodin is dead and in no position to execute or approve the work. Besides, Arseneau argues, with the permission of the Musee Rodin, changes have been made and a signature added, which constitute fraud. Arseneau has won the support of Robert Torchia, the former curator of the Cummer, who was fired in early April, shortly before he was to have left anyway. Torchia has called the timing of his firing suspicious since it came just after he had expressed concerns to Blackburn in a phone call and had written a letter to Arseneau expressing sympathy for his position. I don't believe that anymore . . .