that someone had copied this painting. I painted this back in 2007 and posted it on flickr on April 23, 2007. Yesterday while cruising around the flickr site, I noticed that someone had remarked on one of my latest paintings. I clicked on her link and went to her pictures. If you click on this link, you can see what I found: http://flickr.com/photos/debdoesflickr/2835160078/in/set-72157600077438998/. I am not at all sure how I feel about this. . . my husband reminded me that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. . . but you will note that her painting is also hanging in a gallery and is for sale.
To me this sort of thing is simply dishonest. . . on a relatively small scale. In light of the breathtaking dishonesty we are seeing everyday in politics and government and finances and Wall Street and in daily business dealings, it seems rather minor. I hope she sells the silly thing and enjoys the rewards. Just as an aside, my mother loved this painting so much that I gave it to her. And she keeps telling me that I can't have it back.
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6 comments:
Wow, I can't believe how similar your painting is to the other one. Isn't that plagiarism?? or something. Anyway, yours is better....Good luck on the future of your furniture painting. It was great to talk to you and thank you for letting me vent, as usual.
Anna
It certainly is similar, but I agree that yours is much better (more refined.) Picasso said "If there is something to be stolen, I steal it." But of course he always put his own spirit into it and made it uniquely his. I guess that's what differentiates the masters.
Gayle, Anna is my sister so she's going to think anything I paint is okay. I'm not really upset about it any more; it's just that I have experienced some less-then-honest dealings lately, and I am basically a trusting person, so it is a disappointment to me when people screw with me. And this incident was just the icing on the cake.
Ugh. That makes me ill. Yours is way better, but I know that's not helpful. It still stinks. I know the feeling.
Martha: I would love to know what the price on the painting might be. Just for shits and giggles. I'm over it now, though. . . at least she isn't someone I know, someone I thought was a friend, like what I'm going through right now with the furniture painting. That still stings. . .
I’m so sorry you got ripped off. Yes, the great themes of art are copied and recycled through the Universe through each person’s interpretation, but what a heart-sinker! And not one but two imitation paintings, at that, done four months after your Flickr posting. When I first read your post, The Imitator had marked both Not For Sale (http://www.yessy.com/dmassa/gallery.html?i=4265) but checking today they both are for sale. Your Flickr site plainly shows the copyright, all rights reserved information. Might be a good idea to slap that info on your blog, too, Mary.
It’s so sad when artists have run out of inspiration and stoop so low in blatant coping. At least she could have said, “inspired by Mary Buek”! At the very least, Your Imitator could have done what Michelle did on her blog Not Just a Housewife when she tried Andrea Pratt’s color pencil and gel pen technique but giving full credit to her. Andrea was happily tickled and made a favorable comment, as well.
I had already decided to add my name and year to some gelatin prints I’m sending to an art instructor to use in his classes. I lucked out--he could have just copied my images and I’d never known it. But he did the right thing and contacted me for permission. I’ve noticed some art bloggers watermark every photo and every art work with their name, which seems a little excessive but perhaps smart in the long range regarding scruple-less people. Just this weekend I read Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine editorial how prevalent art blogging has become but how we need to protect our works and also respect others.
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