Artist Who Created The Bean Threatens Suit Over China's 'Blatant Plagiarism'

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 12, 2015 6:28PM

via Twitter

Whether or not you think China's new "Big Oil Bubble" sculpture resembles Chicago's Bean a lot or a little, artist Anish Kapoor is not happy about it.

The artist behind "Cloud Gate," the formal name of the sculpture that came to Millennium Park in 2006, Kapoor said in a statement Wednesday that he wants to sue whoever is responsible for the sculpture to protect his intellectual property.

Calling the sculpture "blatant plagiarism," reps for Kapoor said, "the Chinese authorities must act to stop this kind of infringement," and that Kapoor would "take this to the highest level and pursue those responsible in the courts."

"It seems that in China today it is permissible to steal the creativity of others," he said. "I hope that the Mayor of Chicago will join me in this action. The Chinese authorities must act to stop this kind of infringement and allow the full enforcement of copyright."

Despite the Bean's status as an instantly-recognizable symbol of Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel did not respond reporters' questions Wednesday afternoon about whether the city would join Kapoor in a suit.

"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. If you want to see original artwork...like the Bean, you come to Chicago,” Emanuel told a Sun-Times reporter.

For a nation that brought the world such knockoff gems as "Pizza Huh" (huh?), a Frozen-inspired Olympic theme song and this faux-In-and-Out Burger outlet, a lawsuit is not likely to have a huge effect. But as attorneys will attest, when it comes to copyright law artists have little choice but to "use it or lose it," by fighting to protect their intellectual property when copycats appear.