Plagiarism versus parody

Throughout the history of art copying and interpretations play an important role. Artists were honoured to be copied.

Painter Luc Tuymans investigates the position of the image in society. He believes in authentic forging, as originality is no longer possible and he clearly sees painting as a concept. Irony and photographs are essential elements in the making of his faded oeuvre. Many of his pieces are based on self made Polaroids or Iphone photographs of photocopied pictures to neutralize their colour and make them hazy. The paintings based on these images hardly refer to reality. His renowned Der Diagnostische Blick series are based on images in a syndrome manual whilst The Secretary of State, a portrait of Condoleeza Rice, was also based on a photograph.

Controversy arose on A Belgian politician, which symbolizes and parodies politics' decay of power. As always, Tuymans used an adapted picture as a basis for the piece, which was sold to American art collector Eric Lefkofsky. Tuymans' parodied interpretation shows authentic additions and vale colours.

Photographer Katrijn van Giel sued Tuymans because the artwork was based upon one of her newspaper photographs of Jean-Marie Dedecker( De Standaard, 2010). The court of justice concluded the lighting and composition run parallel to the original's and sentenced the painter with a fine of 500 000 euros per reproduction. Notice of appeal has been given. The sentence led to a polarisation between the art of painting and press photography.

In 1992 Jeff Koons experienced a similar trial concerning his String of Puppies sculpture (1988, part of his Banality series), inspired by a photograph by Art Rogers. The Dutch photographer of the picture of Patrice Lumumba's widow felt honoured when Marlene Dumas based her piece The Widow on it.

A clear distinction between plagiarism, interpretation and derivatives should be made. It goes without saying that exact reproductions are not done. But the painterly invention of concepts is allowed to use the frozen photographical moment as a basis. Otherwise problems would arise over a photograph of an art installation, an interpretation of a poem, a sample used in a beat ...

Every artwork tells a different story, functions as a historical document, an adapted form, a personal societal reaction. Dramatic ego's easily feel threatened. Open-mindedness remains the starting point of freedom and innovation.