Jeff Koons Faces Another Accusation of Plagiarism
- December 30, 2014 17:14
A second work by Jeff Koons in the retrospective now on view at Centre Pompidou in Paris is not on display after a complaint of copyright infringement. The widow of photographer Jean-Francois Bauret, who died earlier this year, claims the sculpture "Naked" (1988) from Koons' "Banality" series looks a lot like a nude photo of two children done by her late husband.
"Naked" was shown recently at the Whitney's same Koons retrospective, but is not on display in Paris. Organizers say it was slightly damaged during transport.
A couple of weeks ago, Franck Davidovici leveled the same complaint against Koons over the sculpture “Fait d’Hiver” (1988) which was pulled from display. Koons has been sued before, and mostly has lost cases, by other artists who have complained he's copied their work.
In response, Pompidou president Alain Seban told the AFP. “A large part of modern and contemporary art is based on the concept of citation, or even appropriation.” The exhibition is drawing more than 6,000 visitors each day, which could make it the top blockbuster at the Pompidou.