Artist Theft – Does Good Design mean Good Trouble?
Netflix Dead to Me and Freeform’s Good Trouble Poster Comparison
In the age old tale of which came first – the idea or the art – who wins? While it’s not always egregious, there are many cases in which art copies art or a time period creates a movement. Then there are the cases where the translation of the subject matter is the art. This is the case of the many, and most famously the mass reproduction art like that of the work of Andy Warhol.
“art is what you can get away with.”
–Warhol
As Andy said, “Art is what you can get away with.” While we as artists and designers today can find it difficult to tow the line between inspiration and original our access to content today is unmatched to any other time. Our exposure to all forms and art often find themselves overlapping in the world of design, packaging or media. So how does it happen that some design can look near identical to another in just around the same time?
With the Good Trouble and Dead to Me Posters, they are conceptual and visual twins. Without having an inside track to either of these creative rooms, I can only presume that it was strong coincidence or that an idea was shared somewhere along the way that got into the minds and offices of both of these spaces. But the reality is one idea had to have happened first and when the other followed, was it too late to change directions or realize just how close in relation the two were?
Designers can have this happen and with the best intention not realize just how closely two designs will ultimately be – and then there are other instances where stealing blatantly happens with no regard for new artist interpretation or expression. Our sensibility and compass of right and wrong should relate back to how we would respond to our own work being put on display as someone else’s as well as the closeness to the original. That doesn’t mean it’s black and white and many factors come into play but the stunning similarities we can see especially in media make us really search as artists for what is new – and is anything original?
Maybe Andy was onto something with the “Art is what you can get away with,” sentiments but other artists may not be so lucky. Even the biggest power players in the industry have had to have their day in court. One being Shepard Fairey, who despite his worldwide acclaim went on to defend his case for copyright law on the famous Obama hope poster. While the case was eventually settled in 2011, the clarity between whether or not this was fair use was never fully disclosed.
Art is questionable. Our ability to create and make, while a personal process is also a highly influenced one. While there may never be clear lines between art and original we as artists and designers are accountable for the work we put out there and our interpretation of the work of others. It can and will continue to be a touchy subject.
What are your thoughts on original art, art appropriation and quite bluntly the art of stealing?
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