The originality of creation

Pablo Picasso once famously quoted, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” What he probably meant was that artists imitate and get inspired by existing works. All of us have possibly resorted to some form of copying in our childhood years. Most teenage boys from the age before the Internet would admit to secretly borrowing verses of love from dusty old library books, to pass them off as their own in declarations to their sweethearts. With copying taking on a very sophisticated sheen in today’s times, this may sound ancient indeed. The act is now uncomplicated, and with the click of a button, the world’s resources are at one’s fingertips. Adolescence may be reason enough to ignore these transgressions committed for school assignments and matters of the heart, but what if this persists well into one’s professional life?

The Indian art world has been hit by a controversy this week involving an act of plagiarism with a reputed gallery, an acclaimed visual artist, and a poet being in the thick of the action.

A poem which was widely used as a protest anthem during the anti-CAA rallies was used by the artist in her artworks, which were displayed as a part of her show at the Delhi gallery. Consent from the poet was, of course, never sought. The lyrics first shot to fame after the writer shared them on social media in 2020 when the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act was raging. It went on to become so popular as powerful words of resistance that it was even read out by Pink Floyd during one of their concerts in London. The poet has now sent a legal notice claiming that his words, which belonged to the masses, have been misappropriated, placed in an elite space, and monetised by attaching a price tag to them. He went on to further claim that he soon discovered that the artist had been using his poem for years by converting it into her art.

Although the artist agreed to an ethical lapse from her side, stating that she was merely paying homage to his words, and the gallery has since announced that the artworks were not for sale, the matter remains unresolved.

There have been several cases of plagiarism in art that have gone to court. Celebrated artist Andy Warhol was sued by a photographer for using her original image in his 1964 series titled ‘Flowers’. The case was settled when Warhol agreed to pay her a royalty for each painting sold and also gave her two paintings in exchange for the right to continue to use the image. Artist Jeff Koons has also been embroiled in six cases of plagiarism, of which he lost three, while the rest concluded in out-of-court settlements.

Plagiarism is definitely not a new concept and has been around as long as creativity has, and history provides enough proof. With the advent of AI, originality may become a precious commodity, perhaps. Ultimately, it is up to our conscience to guide us to live with our principles intact, even when blatantly ripping off someone else’s work becomes the easiest thing to do.