Beware of nicking someone else's idea - even if it's banal, ridiculous to the point of being fruity. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan created the installation art work 'Comedian' selling versions of it reportedly for over $100,000. American artist Joe Morford popped out of the crate accusing Cattelan of filching his idea - and in installation art, the idea is almost everything - from his own 2000 work, 'Banana & Orange'. So, what are the two art works about? A banana stuck to a vertical plane by duct-tape. A version of Cattelan's 'Comedian' was sold for $120,000, even finding a place on the wall of the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2020.
There are two differences between Cattelan's and Morford's works: one, Morford's work also has an orange duct-taped above the banana; two, Cattelan's is a real banana while Morford's two fruits are synthetic. But the Florida judge hearing the case, while acknowledging that 'no one can claim a copyright in ideas,' has allowed the lawsuit. Of course, at the core of this case, the quarrel is over what amounts to 'originality' (rather than about what amounts to 'art). May we suggest that Decoupled, the 2021 comedy OTT show written by Manu Joseph and directed by Hardik Mehta, be careful about the episode showing a banana duct-taped to the wall in a Gurgaon gallery - and eaten by an unsuspecting visitor.
There are two differences between Cattelan's and Morford's works: one, Morford's work also has an orange duct-taped above the banana; two, Cattelan's is a real banana while Morford's two fruits are synthetic. But the Florida judge hearing the case, while acknowledging that 'no one can claim a copyright in ideas,' has allowed the lawsuit. Of course, at the core of this case, the quarrel is over what amounts to 'originality' (rather than about what amounts to 'art). May we suggest that Decoupled, the 2021 comedy OTT show written by Manu Joseph and directed by Hardik Mehta, be careful about the episode showing a banana duct-taped to the wall in a Gurgaon gallery - and eaten by an unsuspecting visitor.
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