Samantha Beeston Traces Her Way To Glory
August 4th, 2009 by Leonard O.
I saw today on the blog of Lauren Nassef, one of my favorite illustrators, a post alerting people to a woman by the name of Samantha Beeston, whose online portfolio was comprised almost entirely of work traced/copied from Nassef. In July 2009 Beeston even won an award (which included a cash prize of £750) for work blatantly traced/copied from drawings by Nassef.
Since this was mentioned on Nassef’s blog, Samantha Beeston has removed her website (http://www.samanthabeeston.co.uk/) and much of her Nassef copies have disappeared from the internet. I thought I would create this post for posterity then, so that even if Beeston manages to erase all trace of her terrible theft there would still be this proof.
Here you see Samantha Beeston accepting her prize at the Textprint awards (larger here / awards page here):
Behind her and to the side you see her copies. In these three picture below you can see the original works by Lauren Nassef, which Beeston appears to have either traced or just printed out and colored-in.
Here is the work for which Samantha Beeston won her £750 prize:
Here’s Lauren Nassef’s originals:
You can really go on and on with this. There seems to be at least forty – fifty examples like this out there. For many of these see this video of Samantha Beeston’s “sketchbook” while you still can:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7S_Kvjk-KM
Every page seems to have at least one piece by Nassef. Others I don’t recognize, they might be Beeston but I doubt it… Perhaps someone else recognizes in there other artists she’s ripped?
EDIT: For a greater overview of the extent of Beeston’s plagiarism, including pictures of her former website, see the entry on book-by-its-cover.com here.
(203 votes, average: 4.97 out of 5)
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Shameful. Shameful whore.
Wow. I mean she just stole a whole collection worth of work. How shameless.
Stone cold busted. I wonder if anyone has notified the place that gave her the award? If I were the original artist I would make sure to notify them. Perhaps have them regift the award to the actual artist.
I love how all these copiers just take down their website. “nothing to see here”
I emailed Texprint (the company who gave the plagiarist the award) and urge everyone to do the same:
http://www.texprint.org.uk/contact.htm
The silver lining here might be that this is such a surprising example of stealing someone’s work that this story itself is going to net Lauren a *ton* of exposure, and that’s awesome.
I mean, I’m just some computer dork that doesn’t know anything about any of this and likely would never have known who Samantha Beeston was, but I definitely know who Lauren Nassef is now! (And I think she’s awesome!)
[...] Read more about it: Lauren Nassef’s Blog Book By It’s Cover You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice [...]
This is truly shameful, stealing is one thing, but to submit stolen works for an award? “You thought we wouldn’t notice?” Why bring that much attention to yourself?
bold move on her part. lauren should contact this girl’s school as well – if she used any of this work in her final portfolio they should know it was plagiarized!!
As well as feeling incredibly sorry for Lauren here, I …almost… feel sorry for Samantha in this case.
This is a major, major set of rips and because she is so young, and fresh out of university, she’s got the threat of having her grade re-examined (if of course that can happen) but her artistic merit is now, by the looks of it, non-existant, thus flatlining her career before its even started.
But, if you burn your own bridge and expect to walk over it afterwards…
wow this is wrong…and she used it for awards…smh
Shes pretty cute, leave her alone.
you can still see her website in Google cache: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:VHFtHVkQOLQJ:www.samanthabeeston.co.uk/index.htm+samanthabeeston.co.uk&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=firefox-a
[...] you thought we wouldn’t notice » Blog Archive » Samantha Beeston Traces Her Way To Glory "I saw today on the blog of Lauren Nassef, one of my favorite illustrators, a post alerting people to a woman by the name of Samantha Beeston, whose online portfolio was comprised almost entirely of work traced/copied from Nassef. In July 2009 Beeston even won an award (which included a cash prize of £750) for work blatantly traced/copied from drawings by Nassef." (tags: transparency art originality plagiarism panopticon intellectual-property caught) [...]
I strongly suggest you remove this as this could be classed as slander in British Law, and TextPrint has been around for over 40 years, with some of the most powerful design Lawyers.
Whilst it’s upsetting for someone to feel they’ve been copied, I would politely request that you think about what your getting yourself into legally by posting this.
The artist in question has removed the work as Nassef asked.
Best Wishes.
That is shocking!
I guess there are many cases where one is inspired by another artist, but copying blatantly and in such a scale is really beyond me. It’s hard to believe that she didn’t know what she was doing or had no idea of copyright laws.
But.. i noticed one Lauren Nassef drawing http://www.laurennassef.com/leaf-id-make-up-for-417/
is drawn from a picture by the Sartorialist
http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/3019MarGiovannaWeb.jpg
I’m curious to know (as a student of graphic design myself), what to think of that in the light of copyright law?
Anon, fuck the what? No. Go away
Mariska- are you kidding me??
Nassef’s “drawing a day” drawing (not tracing) with roots in the Satorialist’s photo does not even belong in the same category. There is no “But…” By that token every artist that ever drew or painted anything from real life is a fraud. Plein air artists, still life artists, etc.
It is plain as day to any educated artist that Nassef’s drawing only begins with the Satorialist’s shot. Nassef’s drawing takes on very much a life of its own.
I find it very disturbing when these types of conversations shift towards a grasping at straws. Mariska, if you are curious about this in terms of copyright you had better educate yourself. As a student of graphic design I should hope this is something that is discussed in depth in your courses.
anon – I hardly think this is slander, we also have this thing in Britain called ‘freedom of speech’ and freedom of information… Also some pretty tight copyright laws.
Alas, Anon (anon, seriously? get some guts), the work was ripped right off… blatantly.
Not to mention this site is not British-based and so obviously not subject to British law. You may as well be talking be talking about Ethiopian law.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say ‘Anon,’ the only voice of dissent here, is Samantha Beeston herself. This ‘Anon’ has been posting on other blogs too, including Nassef’s, making similar demands to remove all mention of this business. It’s too late though, stinky. Things are out there and they can’t be taken back.
I think, also, really, these TextPrint lawyers you talk of are going to make an example of you, Beeston, if you want to speculate about such things. They’d have to want to take it as far as they can now to make other idiots rethink doing a Beeston in future years, I’d bet. I mean, beyond issues of copyright this I imagine must also fall under fraud or some such thing as well. The competition guidelines would have to have rules and penalties already set for this, which you would’ve had to have agreed to when entering. It seems like a very serious situation you’ve gotten yourself into overall, at least it seems that way to me sitting here in my armchair…
How could you be so brazen, Samantha? You copied art from a Woodpigeon CD as well?! That just screams stupidity. Are you even aware that you are breaking copyright laws? Who else have you copied??
How could you stand there are accept an award, have judges review your “sketchbook,” and call yourself an artist? It has been revealed that many of your contemporaries knew you were tracing and stealing. I wonder at the type of relationships you have formed, do they have any shred of honesty in them? Surely your own parents, friends, and clients are not made aware by you that your whole degree and therefore career are based on thievery, fraud, and a complete bankruptcy of integrity and respect for others. You really need to seek help if you hope to live a full and valuable life on this earth.
You:
http://www.texprint.org.uk/2009/winners_2009.htm
Original:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizzystewart/2968917485/
apologize. and rescind your award.
Wow… I’m shocked. I was friends with Sam at Uni and she always seemed like a great girl… I guess nice people can make bad decisions? This shouldn’t reflect badly on Falmouth which is one of the best creative Universities in the world. G u t t e d
If this one done 200 years ago, it would be totally accepted. Because the copyright law would not have tried to stop human culture. If Nassef has allowed her work to be used on a CC license it would have helped many others to build upon her work. The 12 bar has no copyright, and look at where it is being used now.
oooh… Feel sorry for Lauren and Samantha. I guess this is a good case of “you thought we wouldn’t notice” This stuff happens too much in University. Unfortunately, this is not a case of just copying a style, but completely lifting a drawing. Capsco, I think you are wrong in thinking it is O.K to just lift a piece of work and pretend it is completely original. If this is the case, and Samantha is paying some kind of homage to the “unknown artist” then it should be vigorous referenced. It shouldn’t only be about licenses and copyrights, it’s morally wrong- especially when money and grades are involved. Also, what is Anon talking about? there is nothing in the legal law that can be done about someone posting an opinion about anything on the internet in this way. Never heard so much trash in my life. I hope everything gets sorted and they isn’t some kind of strange witch-hunt though- it is pretty bad and a shame, but we all make silly mistakes…
I actually know this theif, i went to university with her. There were stories of her stealing money etc off her housemates too…it would appear some people are just no good…
Anon, your post is just as pathetic as the person it is trying to protect. The only one who looks bad here is Samantha Beeston, and to suggest a lawsuit based on slander is just silly. It is obvious to anyone with eyes that Beeston’s work is not merely a “copy” but outright stolen property passed off as her own. She has totally ruined her own name by choosing to do such a thing, and there’s no one to blame but herself. The fact that she’s now having to pay the piper for receiving credit and awards for work she didn’t do is exactly what she deserves! Trying to smooth this over as, oh, she removed the work from her website and now everything’s ok, is lame. It also has little to do with the real issues here: authorship and originality vs. fraud and lies.
I’m an artist and I just have to say that this whole public lynching post is going too far. So someone ripped your stuff off, it’s not the end of the world. It happens to me too. I don’t get bent out of shape over it. It’s totally just one of those funny things that happens if you’re any good and you have to take it as a compliment. Don’t forget…IT’S JUST ART, little stupid drawings and paintings…you can’t get too uber serious over it…in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal. She’s a dumb kid who should know better…but ouch…I feel bad for her. She’s still a student. A simple email and F for semester would have sufficed. ps. I am not this girl in webguise, i am a dude that really feels this way.
I have to area with Jason. Lifting back the curtain on a dishonest act is one thing. That’s what this site appears to be for.
I am not this girl and I am not defending her actions. What she did is quite serious and needs to be dealt with by the appropriate parties (the artists and the institutions involved), however posts like Mark’s above -are- libel. This site looses cred if shit deteriorates into unfounded and unrelated accusations. I honestly feel comments like it should be removed / moderated if this site is to really serve it’s intended purpose with some level of integrity.
oops. area = agree
Jason and Maria, your drawings might be “little stupid drawings and paintings” and you might not care (I don’t know your work, so I’m not labeling, merely using your words). But some of us actually rely on the protection of and the income from our little drawings and paintings to make a living. Lauren seems to be one of these people who takes her work seriously. If someone walked into your house and stole your computer, I’d be surprised if you just ignored it or took it as a (are you kidding me?) compliment. Samantha’s use of Lauren’s work in these patterns is literally taking away potential income from Lauren, and is even more wrongly and more simply misrepresentation.
Whether Samantha is a good person or not, or stole from friends in college as “Mark” asserts is neither here nor there and doesn’t belong on this site. But what Samantha seems to have done here is certainly equivalent to a serial thief, and as far as I am concerned the more something like this is out there and the more attention it brings, the less those of us who take our work very seriously will have to deal with the same thing happening to us. You don’t care about your little drawings? Great — give them a CC license and open them up to the public domain.
@ Capsco –
copyright law was intended to let artists participate financially from the success which derived from their work, not “to stop human culture” (which in the last 200 years it didn’t, as even you must have noticed).
And I think you know that your analogy of copying a drawing and the 12 bar music system is more than somewhat askew, the latter being a descriptive system, not a work of art.
@ Kellen –
I’m afraid Mariska has a point here.
International Copyright law has restrictions concerning adaptations (as taking a photograph as a direct model of a drawing based on it).
I do happen to know something about this as I myself –with assistance of my lawyer- threatened some clients with preliminary injunctions followed by private settlements in my time as an illustrator.
Jason, what the fuck are you on about? You’re an artist but feel your work is just stupid drawings?
People are bitching on a website. Other than a handful of people actually ambitious enough to call on textprint no one is doing anything. No one is lynching her. I’m sure her face turns beet red no matter where she goes on the internet, as it should. I feel for her too. I never trusted my own abilities and figured it was easier to copy in high school until I was flat out caught and taunted for it. Bet your ass I hit the sketch book. This will go away in time and I hope she learns from it. I hope others learn from it too lest they also think straight up theft equals an easy A. Bitch is getting raked over the coals and I’m happy it’s not just swept under the rug. I also hope she can dust herself off and move on.
As far as censoring the comments. What Sam did (see that? two Sams in a week. must be the name) is pretty significant. Modding this much outrage won’t quell the sea of voices. What you’re suggesting is the internet version of “LALALALALALAICAN’THEARYOULALALA” I hate to be “that guy” but if you don’t like it don’t read it.
-m truely discusted by this, I was in sam’s year at falmouth and I feel this has brought such shame and disrepute onto my fine unoversity. When I heard about this I assumed it would be just a passing similarity to her work but to see the extent of her wrong doing is shocking. But lauren should take it as a complement in some ways as she now knows that her work is good enough to win awards and could gain her a high marked degree from a very good school.
Mariska and K. Forth: both great catches!
This is really so insane the more I think about it. It’s kind of funny. What did Samantha Beeston really think was going to happen, that she was just going to go on and on doing this until the end of time? Your mind would have to be operating on the level of a retarded person to even consider that you might get away with it. It’s really a struggle to fathom the mind that thinks, ‘Oh, boy, this is good idea, this should pan out well for me.’ Beyond the immorality, just thinking that you’d get away with it is utterly insane. You might as well have tried republishing ‘Stephen King’s The Shining‘ as ‘The Shining by Samantha Beeston.’
I’m really very curious to hear some response from Beeston now. I think I could feel sympathetic and others might be the same. You might at least find people willing to leave the photos of you out of it. I also don’t really see how you can go on without apologising/explaining, unless of course you’re now content to forever be sullied as the shithead who stole and never took responsibility or even merely admitted fault. I don’t think you really understand at all, still. If ‘Anon’ really is you then you truly don’t. I bet for one you’re actually angry at Lauren Nassef now, like she’s in the wrong here. Is that how it is, stinky?
@jack: Lauren did go to RISD, which is a very, very good school. She’s also a New York Times-published illustrator. And she is phenomenally talented. I’m sure she knows her work is more than “good enough”. It’s just that it is Lauren who should have received those awards, and not some plagiarizing, talentless hack.
Also, I just realized that the Lizzy Stewart who designed the Woodpigeon cover is a friend of a bunch of my friends. This only makes me angrier.
I’m not even a good artist, and I think the idea that someone could actually plagiarize something is beyond ridiculous. Every idea I’ve ever come up with has been my own. I don’t care if you look at photos, paintings or life for inspiration; there’s no excuse for a single line looking like it was ripped from something that isn’t yours.
Truely shocking. I can only imagine how it must feel to have so much of your hard work and ideas stolen by another. Its great that this site and the internet as a whole is here to expose such blatant frauds as Samantha.
“I strongly suggest you remove this as this could be classed as slander in British Law, and TextPrint has been around for over 40 years, with some of the most powerful design Lawyers.”
If Texprint [correct spelling] does have “powerful” lawyers the only person who should be worrying is Samantha Beeston.
Your poor attempt at a threat is probably the only laugh Lauren Nassef could get out of this mess.
Apologies if this has already been posted.
http://www.haberdasheryandhome.typepad.com/ claims to be Samantha Beeston friend. Also, back in April of this year, she blogged about Samantha with photos of “her work” found here:
http://haberdasheryandhome.typepad.com/haberdasheryandhome/2009/04/new-designers-09.html#comments
And here’s a enlargement of the scarf w/ Samantha’s name: http://haberdasheryandhome.typepad.com/.a/6a00e5534d319b8833010536e58079970b-pi
Also: F.TAPE blog covered the award winnings on their website w/ group photo of artists and Samantha Beeston found here:
http://www.ftape.com/media/?p=2445
As one of the artists that has fallen victim to this whole thing I’d like to add my two cents.
Although this is hurtful and upsetting no one deserves to be lynched by people they dont know in this way. By all means call people up on it when they are revealed to be ‘borrowing’ too closely from other people but this public slanging match is sort of embarassing to all involved. I am sure that the person involved is fully aware of what they’ve done and suffering enough without it being all over the internet.
Also I would really like to quash the comments that I’ve seen on various sites that question her University. Falmouth is indeed a great school with a good reputation. This can be seen as no reflection on their staff and students. Surely a one off occurance.
I think this goes a little futher than ‘borrowing’! I haven’t seen such an example of someone passing off other work as their own since Roy Lichtenstein.
I agree it muct be a little embarising for both the participants and organisers of design competition which she won, with someone elses work, and also for her University but I also agree, they would have no way to know about the work being fraudulent, especialy with the legnth that have been gone to here, producing ‘fake’ sketch books and such.
There is clear intent to defraud both her university and in the Textprint competion she entered.
With respect, Lizzy, but when you compare it other types of fraud then it’s hard to feel sympathy. Poor Madoff didn’t get off after saying he was sorry. Beeston took potential money out of artists pockets. It’s hard to quantify the potential loss of revenue usually but here it’s pretty clear, Nassef “won” over $1,000USD that she never received.
I do feel for the girl though. It probably started with “I’ll just do this to get an edge at school, practice real hard at home and when I’m out in the wild stand on my own two feet.” Only to find that her own work was wildy different and probably inferior to that she was stealing (hard to build on your own talents when you waste them photoshopping others works and claiming them as your own) Classic case of little white lie that turns into a huge monster. I even bet it just started out with an extra sketch in her book to show off or make a small grade. If she were a decent human being I bet she felt shame and anger every time she stole. If she were a decent human being she’d understand and respect the outrage. If she were a decent human beings she’d be working very hard on an apology.
If she’s not a decent human being well then, fuck her. She deserves it.
@ Kellen – I certainly didn’t want to imply that she was copying pictures! I do admire Lauren’s drawings greatly and what happened to her work is simply scandalous. I guess i was a bit rough in how i put it (English is not my first language). I do admit that i don’t know enough about copyright law and that’s why i asked my perhaps naive question.
My question was actually meant to be more general and i brought Laurel’s work as an example. I was wondering how to deal with issues like taking a photo from the Internet and using it (or parts of it) in my work. I guess many of us may be a bit naive about it, like Frank pointed out, it can be a serious case. So, what would be the legally correct procedure to follow if i wanted to use someone else’s work as a basis of my own?
“I strongly suggest you remove this as this could be classed as slander in British Law”
Actually, it couldn’t – slander is verbal. The word you’re looking for is ‘libel’, the print version. If you don’t know the difference between libel and slander, then I wouldn’t be making legal threats.
I’ve followed this story closely and so far I haven’t seen anyone put down Falmouth for this at all. Why should one student’s fraud reflect badly on them? Actually I’ve only read of how great a school it is from many online. Why would I or anyone assume the school is at fault in any way for what one student does? How were they to know? No, there’s nothing in that, thank goodness.
And I must respectfully disagree that the “slanging” is embarrassing for anyone but Samantha Beeston. Frankly, this kind of thing is taken much too lightly in these modern times–by students, by the world at large and even, amazingly, by the artists who have been ripped off and don’t want to cause a huge fuss and look like “the bad/mean guy”, perhaps. But it DOES concern many more than just the parties involved-it affects all of us who are working artists and students for that matter.
And I believe it’s unfortunately the “have pity”, “well, unfortunate-please don’t do it again” sort of “compassionate” response that makes this all too easy for cheaters to risk doing it, again and again.
I’m not at ALL “sure that the person involved is fully aware of what they’ve done and suffering enough”–in fact I think such a person is just as likely cynically hoping that if caught she will be given a pass. Would you feel differently if you spoke to her and found her belligerant and not terribly apologetic towards stealing and copying your desing? Has she offered you or Lauren any apology at all, thus far?
In view of the outrageous arrogance from such as “Anon” I think your cautions are wide of the mark. This person has too much hubris. This lesson should be a harsh one. If you’re psychologically together and grownup enough to accept fraudulent cash awards and business opportunities you’re adult enough to face lawsuits and public condemnation too.
…I still can’t get over the fake sketchbook. It’s a whole other level of wrong.
I was at Falmouth with Sam, and I am truly shocked at the extent of what she has done. I had an inkling that she had traced a few pictures as her housemates told me they thought this was the case. But seeing this really is insanely shocking. I really hope this does not reflect badly on Falmouth and the tutors, as it is a very good art school and everyone, with one exception, has a very unique style.
I hope Sam will learn from this and not do anything stupid.
Looks like Texprint judges have (rightfully) removed Samantha Beeston from their 2009 winners lineup: http://www.texprint.org.uk/2009/awards.htm
She totally stole my pen from me in year 7!! bitch!
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:zrvyztjdhVoJ:www.indigo-salon.com/ipa/index.php%3Fpage%3D02%26lang%3Dfr+“samantha+beeston”&cd=35&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Collections dynamiques d’imprimés et de dessins inspirés de différentes cultures et qui créent des scènes pleines d’imagination, de vie et de couleurs.
This is an interesting saga of Internet fraud and Internet justice, it seems to me . . . The girl has good plagiaristic taste, I’ll give her that: Lizzy Stewart and Lauren Nassef. I, too, wish I could draw like they do.
Two small things: Lauren credited the photo that she drew from The Sartorialist. For more great conversation on the intersection of artists and copyright, there’s Joy Garnett’s website: http://newsgrist.typepad.com/
Also, I highly suspect we will never hear a sincere apology from this young woman, as her actions bespeak a narcissitic personality disorder (doesn’t mean they’re not charming). Hope I’m wrong.
@ Mariska. Photographs used for direct reference for art HAS to be public domain or has been given permission to use the photo in question, royalty free (if you want to sell it and not give the photographer a portion of the profits). Photographer has the same rights as any artist do and so does the model. They could seek damages if a profit has been made. You have to be very clear when asking permission for a photo reference. Or you have to search their site for a copyright/disclaimer.
The photographer has this disclaimer on his site:
This entire site ⓒ 2005-2009 The Sartorialist. All of the photographs herein, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted by the photographer. No part of this site, or any of the content contained herein, may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without express permission of the copyright holder(s).
It sounds as though the winners of that competition got to go to France to collaborate with a company called “Indigo”. Hopefully there aren’t any of Samantha’s “work” in print for that company?!
looks like texprint removed most traces of her. I would like to hear some sort of statement from someone about all of this. The school, texprint or sam herself.
Hannah Hoch would have a field day with these girls.
@Brian Huh? I said nothing about not caring for the “stupid little drawings.” I work part time as a photographer/retoucher and web designer and I derive a portion of my income from these two pursuits. So, yes, I do care. I wish to see all types of creative’s be able to protect their work and be able to seek recourse or recompense either nationally or internationally when there is a copy violation or theft. But I also know that it’s too easy for theft to occur and much too costly or time consuming for most creatives to navigate the legal system. I also think that some people really do take every doodle that comes out of their pen or every snapshot that comes out of their camera a little too seriously.
What I agreed with was the notion that it is not this sites purpose to be a forum where we should be able to make shit up about this girl (ie. she stole money as well) or the institutions involved or anyone else accused of copy right infringement, theft or misuse for that matter. It’s really dangerous territory, legally. This isn’t the first post to have those sorts of unfounded comments. If it deteriorates to that then ytwwn could loose much of the credibility it’s built up over the years. That’s all. Not that I -really- care other then this is a great resource and soup box but it has it’s place in the IP discussions.
@Pat It seems that’ something most illustrators have a hard time with as do many beginning photographers; not to mention the courts.
Thank you, Pat and jen g for your answers
I hope that this case will be known for many people and that there will be justice. And I hope that this will make people aware of copyright laws, i know it made me think about it.
I went to Uni with her and was on the same course, in the same year (and got a worse degree then her pfft) and I’am in complete shock. I knew some things were traced, and as a printer myself I do trace things to make them “accurate”… but not other peoples work!!! thats just bad sense. I cant believe awards were won for other peoples work! I mean its just shocking.
I would like the other people that are from Falmouth Uni say… I hope this doesnt look bad on the college its an amazing art school and a fantastic course, so I hoep this doesnt slander it.
Im still in shock.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wNjbq9d04ok/SlJtsyFFhQI/AAAAAAAAABY/6jodfAJIijE/s1600/Speed%2Bof%2BLight.jpg
its the worst feeling in the world to be in a creative and have no confidence in yourself to resort to stealing other peoples work. She is really feeling it now…
its the worst feeling in the world to be in a creative and have no confidence in yourself to resort to stealing other peoples work. She is really feeling it now…
It must be a bad feeling indeed.
But I’d offer that the worst feeling in the world is to be in a creative business that is your profession and find out that a huge amount of your work on your website was stolen, that someone’s pretending she did it, won a prestigious award, and is given praise for work that YOU did.
THAT is the worst feeling in the world.
I have been following this story for the last few days, and I have been fascinated but how it has unraveled. I agree it is probably the most deplorable thing you can do as a designer/artist. I am disappointed that no statement has come from Samantha, or indeed any of the organisations involved. Whilst it should have been the first port of call that samantha should have got in touch with lauren first, I also feel that say, textprint, new designers, and indeed falmouth uni should have got in touch with her also, if only to offer an apology (sorry to all involved if this has already happened). Yes, they can say they were unaware of her actions, but it is how they deal with this that is probably the most crucial factor for the design industry as a whole.
I can see that there are many on here who are quick to defend falmouth uni. I absolutely agree that it is one of the finest institutions in the UK but they have clearly got to take some form of responsibility. They, after all, are responsible for shaping and guiding samantha as a designer, and if they weren’t ramming home the fact that plagiarism is the number one cardinal sin on a daily basis then they have clearly not been doing their job. As a designer of many years, I remember my lecturers constantly repeating this mantra and making it totally aware that if discovered punishment will be swift and severe.
Yes, plagiarism does go on, so I won’t get sanctimonious on the subject. But when it is so blatant as this example one has to wonder how and where her judgements were formed to allow her to think that it would be okay. I clearly don’t think that uni’s should monitor everyone’s work and investigate the provenance of everyone’s work, as this would be stupid, but if it is only a case of teaching the wrongs of plagiarism then so be it. Playing to a person’s sensibilities and humanity/morality through education is really the only way to defend against these acts.
As designers we are all essentially good people (or so I would like to believe) who only enter the profession to ‘make things better’, so I truly believe that dialogue and education is they only way to make this happen. If samantha was a few years older then I would not hold back. Damn her and string her up I’d say. But the fact that she is a grad makes me think that she is young and stupid, and I can kinda see how this all escalated for her…..
She’s sees laurens work, likes it and rips it for a module project maybe (it may not have even been the only style she submitted at this stage, dare i say that some of her own work was submitted). Laurens work gets great feed back from samantha’s tutors (of course) and perhaps they tell samantha to focus on this style more. As a dumb student, of course she takes the easy route and ends up lifting lauren’s back catalogue. She keeps getting good grades, they submit her final project for the contest, she wins, then BAM!, she is completely busted. Just deserts I say.
Anyways, like I say Samantha was dumb, but then so were her peers. That may sound harsh, but if they don’t take at least some of the responsibility for letting this happen, and string samantha out to dry, then they are as weak as she is, for if your peers and tutors can’t guide you properly then we’re all fucked.
oh, and sorry for the length of the last post!!!
and another thing…..
before you lot flame me for grammar, as is the case on most blogs these days. I have now learned the difference between a sandy land mass and a sugary treat.
haha
continue…
“Anyways, like I say Samantha was dumb, but then so were her peers. That may sound harsh, but if they don’t take at least some of the responsibility for letting this happen, and string samantha out to dry, then they are as weak as she is, for if your peers and tutors can’t guide you properly then we’re all fucked”
Good post, good points made. But I’m not quite sure what you mean in suggesting her “peers and tutors” have responsibility.
If her peers knew she was copying like that then yes, they share guilt but aren’t responsible for her doing it in the first place. And as for her tutors, perhaps they DID make all those lectures about plagiarism? IN any case as you point out how couldn’t they be responsible if they didn’t know the work submitted wasn’t the student’s?
As for Beeston contacting Lauren: it hasn’t been said one way or another (has it?). I think all we know is that when contacted by Lauren she removed her website-there was no mention of a reply and that much of it is Lauren’s business(of course I am curious about it). Some of the businesses like Texprint have replied to other people concerned about this so one hopes they’ve responded appropriately to Ms. Nassef and are ongoing with communication.
@:-/
cheers.
I guess, but I’m not saying they are as guilty, just that they have some responsibility over Samantha and her work. If Falmouth were a design agency and samantha an employee, yes she would have got fired but the company would still get sued left right and centre.
Indeed perhaps they did have those lectures at Falmouth, but considering where it has ended up, they didn’t work. Of course you can’t foresee every eventuality and know every persons character traits, but it’s the culture you create that inhibits such activities. If it’s not cool to do it, you don’t do it. Unless of course you are a truly amoral person of machiavellian proportions, which I believe she is not.
check it out, as layla boyd says herself:
‘I was at Falmouth with Sam, and I am truly shocked at the extent of what she has done. I had an inkling that she had traced a few pictures as her housemates told me they thought this was the case.’
what kind of a culture is that?
okay, you don’t rat on your mates, but when it all started snowballing surely someone should have said something. did no one pull her to one side and say ‘hey, what you’re doing is ridiculous and wrong’?
clearly the repercussions of plagiarism were not really outlined that well, and now they are finding out the hard way.
As my initial paragraph is meant to illustrate, Uni’s are the last frontier between an emerging designer and the big, wide (bad) commercial world and if they can’t prepare them for it then yes, they haven’t done their job properly.
Anyways, mine isn’t really a comment on the whos, whys, and what fors, cos it really is a dispicable act nuff said, it’s more a comment on how it is dealt with. If it is a case of laying the blame solely at samantha’s door, and not about how it was allowed to happen, we have learned nothing and it will happen again.
I don’t think it’s the profs or peers responsibility at all. It’s not the prof’s problem if she’s a person of poor moral standing. When you go to work at a retail store, your boss doesn’t lecture you not to steal from the till everyday. Every time you leave your house, your spouse doesn’t tell you how bad extramarital affairs are. You know the rules, it’s up to you to follow them. If not, face the consequences, don’t tell your boss ‘oh, but you only told me twice that stealing from the till is frowned upon.’
Seriously though, these are young adults, not primates.
[...] quieren leer bien todo el caso, pueden ir a you thought we wouldnt notice, que por cierto, es un sitio dedicado sólo a plagios y robos artísticos. No hubiera pensado que [...]
I was at college with Samantha (she was in the year below me) I am absolutely appalled and disgusted that anyone can stoop so low. What a disgrace and such a shame for such a great uni.
It is very very simple and easy to download YouTube videos to your hard drive for keeping. Google about it and you’ll see.
she should really have her degree withheld or revoked..surely.
lets hang the bitch also!
[...] Girl steals artwork to pass off as her own. Girl wins prize for stolen artwork. Girl gets busted. Girl deletes her portfolio. Internet steps in to preserve fraud for all eternity, and to publicize the theft. Pile-on commence…. [...]
One of the most troubling questions I have about this issue is about the teaching assessments of art students. Surely over a 3 to 4 year period, through drawing classes etc, the teachers at Falmouth should have been aware of the real talents of the student through observation of work in progress, if not why not? It also seems like naivety in the extreme to not understand the issue of plagiarism(I imagine this was discussed at Falmouth?). I’m also dumbfounded that an artist?designer would not understand the function of the internet not only as a source of information but as a means of global communication to promote work and as Samantha is painfully finding out to network about artists and their work (There are some harsh words on many blog sites about this and although this issue is of her own making she is still a very young graduate and I hope she can get over this and have the courage to start creating all of her own work in the future, there is always a lot of competitive pressure to perform at colleges). Hopefully the positive side of this issue will be further recognition and respect for Lauren’s fine work. In this instance the appropriation of Lauren’s work appears obvious and the case for plagiarism would seem clear cut, but what of all the cases where aspects of an artists work are used but where it is much more difficult to address issues of plagiarism? Where can the line be drawn?
As terrible as this is, she’s quite fit, so I’d happily do her.
I was at Falmouth uni and graduated in 2008. This issue should not be blamed on the uni. As a textile student myself we had hundreds of lectures on plagiarism and this is not the tutors fault. All the textile tutors were 100% supportive and good at what they do- this is 100% Sam trying to get away with it- everyone at the uni knows this is wrong and the tutors in no way should be to blame.
She’s unlucky to have gotten caught, but the girl showed real initiative; I predict a bright future for her.
Posted by “Andy” on Bookbyitscover.com[where comments are now closed]:
“Enough wicked and disgusting comments about my daughter. And yes she can look me in the eye you have no idea of the pain she is in over this. The matter has been settled with Lauren, now end this insane chat and find something else to character assassin. Bigoted hypercritics this has nothing to do with you lot.”
Given the attitude on display here, it’s a bit clearer how Samantha may have got that way.
Texprint have released an official statement stripping Samantha Beeston of the Award and announce new winner -
http://www.ftape.com/media/?p=2445
[...] Agora repare no trabalho da ilustradora Lauren Nassef. Parecido, ne, bem? Imagens: You thought we wouldn’t notice - blog que dedica-se a desmascarar plagios. Otimo. Veja os comentarios da galera. [...]
I love the fact that the loudest members of the lynch mob are the ones with the least worth stealing. What are you so worried about.
Fortune favours the brave / Sam saw an opportunity and exploited it to the best of her ability. Albeit ethically wrong – if she hadn’t done it she might not have won. At least shes putting her tracing skills to good use rather than flaming randoms on the interpipes.
Oh and was also at Falmouth and Jon Unwin can eat a bowl of dicks.
X
Just like the serial copier SIMON PITHIE. Copies and calls themselves creative.
Never read a bigger pile of sanctimonious, self-righteous bilious bollocks in my entire life. The girl was a student for fux sake. She was naive. Plagiarism is rife in art, always has been, always will be. What did Picasso say … “great artists always steal”? She got caught, has been punished, justice has been served all round. Lauren Nassef has probably benefited from this in some roundabout way. A couple of days ago she was just another obscure girly illustrator doing yet more of these slightly precious and twee little drawings that seem to be the rage on some of these sites. Now, everyone interested in this kind of insipid work has heard of her. Hey! Everyone’s a winner! Asswipes….
^^ What he said ^^
Anyway, I think you’ve gotta give the girl some credit. She cut and pasted those drawings into a very dashingly composed wallpaper design, and even added a bit of colour for good measure. Not that I’d buy that sort of twee pish to plaster all the walls of my house….
Maybe Samantha and Lauren should collaborate. ?!?
Shmeg
The two of you together should open up a fish and chip shop, with one taking responsibility for the fish while the other works the chips.
Just received this message from the Texprint folks:
–
Texprint is a not-for-profit organisation sponsored by industry and established 40 years ago, that selects the creative talent in textile design graduating from UK colleges each year, nominated as the best by their tutors (no graduate can put themselves forward). Of the 220 put forward, 24 are finally chosen through a rigorous selection process of interviews with panels of industry experts. These 24 are given an exhibition in London then Paris at Indigo, part of the prestigious Premiere Vision textile show. In addition there are 6 special prizes for Colour, Print, Weave, Knit, Interior Fashion and Breaking New Ground, each sponsored by a company, which includes exhibiting at a show in Hong Kong. All of the young designers are mentored and given a Need to Know pack detailing all aspects of professional conduct, and a talk by a copyright lawyer. This is the first year that something involving copyright has occurred, which is of enormous concern to us.
We learnt last week that the winner of the Colour Prize has created her designs by copying the work of other designers. The first we knew of it was a steady flow of emails from America and the UK alleging that the work that she submitted for our 2009 prize competition has plagiarized the work of other designers. In particular, Lauren Nassef sent us a detailed email in which she placed her work alongside the winner – the conclusion that the work had been copied was simply unavoidable, and there have been o ther designers including Lizzy Stewart and Jez Burrows who have also shown evidence that their work had been copied.
Texprint’s raison d’etre is to encourage creativity and original design. We were naturally very shocked and disappointed by the designer’s actions which left us with no alternative but to withdraw the prize that she was awarded and the opportunity to exhibit in Paris and Hong Kong. Her work has been removed from the Texprint website, and another designer, Lisa Stannard (whose work was originally very nearly chosen by the Colour Prize judge, Barbara Horspool, Creative Director of New Look) has been given the prize.
I too was at college with Samantha Beeston and I can confirm that she was also a close friend of Tracy Connolly and they would often laugh together about what they’d done to Baby P at the weekend.
I am not intending to justify Samantha’s actions, but I believe they were a direct impact from the intense desire to impress. There was no malicious or manipulative intent she was simply naïve. I doubt she sat cackling gleefully over her light box as she traced. When she looked over her body of work as a whole I imagine she was riddled with the insecurity that barely any of it was hers, as I imagine most would.
The line between inspiration and replication is a very blurry one that Samantha obviously took to the extreme, with disastrous consequences. How different does a picture have to be before it is taken from ‘inspiration’ rather than copied? I think it has to be understood that as it is acceptable to frolic around heavily inspired, it can be tempting to take it that bit further. I am sure the more people loved Samantha’s work, the easier it became to carry on the winning combination of cleverly composing Nassef’s imagery. Perhaps a collaboration would have been a success!
Judging the whole situation objectively, should this not be more of a question of the educational system? It is alarming that someone could be so successful with another’s work, but if she had done it with the intent to make a statement that she was able to trick her way to triumph, she would have executed it extremely well!
The call for an apology seems to be from those keen for an argument, I imagine any statement given by Samantha would simply fan the flames. It is probable that she wishes to stay as far away from the Internet as possible.
It seems ironic that had she not been so successful, the original artist would probably never have found out. However, I imagine there is no one suffering more right now than the perpetrator herself. It will take a long time before she can search for her name and not be plagued by the hundreds of derogatory comments from those who know little about the situation. It was wrong, but it’s done, she has suffered the consequences.
I can’t work out whether the reason I feel (strangely, seriously) bad for her cause she is cause she is so incredibly cute… And kinda wonder – if she was some big hairy ugly man then would I, and everybody else defending her here have the complete opposite opinion. Not that there are many people defending her but some that are do actually seem to have a good point.
I’m usually the one of the first to rip somebody to shreds over this sort of thing.
Ah human nature, so frigging confusing.
I think the reason that people have come around to defending her is the inevitable backlash against the overwhelming kicking she’s been given on here and virtually every other related blog and web-site. I note that even the artists that were originally sinned-against have asked their ’supporters’ to leave off now. The punishment far outweighs the crime – “butterflies” and “wheels” come to mind. Or “sledgehammers” and “nuts”. Some of the comments have been risible (“she has let down the whole artistic community”) and cheerleader-ish attempts to orchestrate mass mail-ins to her college and prospective employers are quite stomach-churning. As I said before, she’s just a student. It was an act of naivity, maybe stupidity. But I don’t think that “artists” should be acting like a KKK lynch-mob. If “artists” are not going to function as a liberal conscience then where does that leave the rest of the community?
I’ve been ripped off many times in my long career. Sometimes flagrantly bootlegged by big companies earning lots of bucks without me ever knowing. Other times it’s more subtle. Little things cropping up in other artists’ work (sometimes people I know personally) that I’m just damn sure have a line directly back to my own work but probably can’t prove. But unless you want to spend many years involved in litigation (stressful and expensive) You just have to learn to let go of that stuff and think only about your next piece.
I’m sure Samantha Beeston has learned her lesson, albeit in the most traumatic way imaginable. I hope she gets herself a good pen name and a new body of work and I wish her well for the future…
Now the Archers is on…
What Samantha Beeston has done is clearly very wrong, but she is only a student and this site is unnecessary. In effect her whole artistic career has been ruined, which can be argued is fair enough, but ruining someones future career, and life, over one mistake she made so young is very unfair. Your point has been made, her lesson must have been learned. Maybe it is time to close this site and let things calm down.
ps. I am not Sam Beeston. I just realised the unfortunate coincidence of having the same initials.
I can’t believe people are defending her. Submitting Lauren’s work at school in itself is awful form, but I’m sure she was well aware of the fact that her work was likely to be submitted for other reviews/scholarships/awards. This wasn’t just a “uni student mistake” – she was going to a prestigious school that, as others have stated here, made this issue a huge deal and condemned it wholeheartedly.
The fact that she’s a pretty girl probably only strengthened her case and worked to her advantage because no one wanted to believe she was a fraud. Look at how smug she looks in that photo — knowing full well that work isn’t hers. AT ALL.
After realizing I was in the runnings for such an award knowing that the work wasn’t mine, I’d have kindly said “Thanks but no thanks,”
I sure as hell wouldn’t accept the monetary reward, the shows in Paris and Hong Kong, and I would ESPECIALLY not get a photo with my sorry ass face plastered on the internet over it without saying a word and expecting nothing of it. She was either scared shitless or just absolutely stupid — in either case she deserved to feel that way.
Those saying she was naive are just lying to themselves and giving the benefit of the doubt where it was already far beyond that point.
Are people going a bit crazy about this? Probably. ButI have no idea how Lauren Nassef deserves to be called “just another obscure girly illustrator doing yet more of these slightly precious and twee little drawings that seem to be the rage on some of these sites” and her work “insipid.” That’s just mean-spirited against someone who hasn’t done anything AT ALL wrong and who YOU DON’T KNOW. Whether you are jealous or what, Baron Samedi, I have no idea. I DO know that it looks like Ms Nassef has stayed away from anything resembling the stray mean comment that has been made about Beeston on a handful of websites. And those defending Beeston, I suggest, should think about Nassef for a few minutes. She’s a struggling freelance illustrator working her butt off and, if you look over her website, just starting to gain a name for herself with a few pretty great (but surely not well-paying) gigs here and there. Her career is starting off and probably at a pretty pivotal place. Think about how HER career would have been affected had Beeston been able to get away with this, selling Nassef’s art at trade shows in Paris and Hong Kong. I’m all for not being mean or hateful or spreading off-topic rumors about Beeston, but come on, she is NOT the victim here. And she SHOULD feel bad about what she’s done for a while and she certainly SHOULD apologize for what she’s done. This is an opportunity for intelligent discussion and a lot of the people out there are missing the mark completely. And I certainly HOPE Nassef gains a bit from this, because enough is being taken from her during it. Did any of you read her original blog post? She says she feels “terrible” about this whole issue and I imagine she STILL feels terrible about it, and I think the other artists involved express the same sentiment.
Kellen
Mariska- are you kidding me??
Nassef’s “drawing a day” drawing (not tracing) with roots in the Satorialist’s photo does not even belong in the same category. There is no “But…” By that token every artist that ever drew or painted anything from real life is a fraud. Plein air artists, still life artists, etc.
It is plain as day to any educated artist that Nassef’s drawing only begins with the Satorialist’s shot. Nassef’s drawing takes on very much a life of its own.
I find it very disturbing when these types of conversations shift towards a grasping at straws. Mariska, if you are curious about this in terms of copyright you had better educate yourself. As a student of graphic design I should hope this is something that is discussed in depth in your courses.
…………………………………
Mariska isn’t grasping at straws, this does belong in a very similar category. The drawing is obviously based on the photo, and if she uses the drawing for commercial purposes, she could be rightfully sued for damages by the photographer -or rather- by whoever holds the ©, if she didn’t have permission to reference the photo.
It’s not NEARLY the same as drawing from real life, and whether it “takes on a life of it’s own” is debatable. It’s based on someone else’s property just as much as a drawing of a drawing would be. If you’re an artist or designer, you had better educate yourself too!
“Somebody else did something even worse” isn’t much of a defense.
I’ve been following this for a couple of days now and am still waiting for Samantha Beeston to release some kind of statement or to say something in her defense. I know a couple of her friends have stepped in to defend her as well as her dad (who is just doing what any father would do for their child – whatever they had done). But this, for me, is incredibly ironic. Can she not do anything for herself? She has committed this crime of stealing another person’s (peoples) work, has built her career on the work of others and now has people fighting this battle for her too? Does she have any autonomy? Where is her voice? Is she just an empty shell using others to formulate her own existence? Is she real? She is a tragic figure. We must pity her. The worst punishment of all is her nothingness.
I think a lot of the animosity has grown not because of the sheet audacity of what has happened, but of the events that have succeeded them and if Sam continues to remain silent then people will continue to character assassin, especially as all we’ve been left to do is assume the worst. Her silence is deafening.
PS, I would LOVE to see an authentic bona fida Samantha Beeston piece, if only to reassure me that the girl has something within her own being.
Angst ridden cadaver
I’ve been following this for a couple of days now and am still waiting for Samantha Beeston to release some kind of statement or to say something in her defense.
……..
If she has a lawyer (or her father does) I’m sure they’ve advised her to keep her mouth shut.
She also doesn’t owe anyone HERE an apology, (except the affected artist who asked everyone to give it a rest), something that most folks posting here don’t seem to comprehend.
Hey children, listen to your father:
I’ve been in this game for many years – most of you seem to have just hatched out of the egg. Listen: I’ve been ripped off, cheated, bootlegged – you name it. I’ve suffered travails that youse lot can only have nightmares about… I’ve also earned quite unreasonably large sums of money for very little work. It all kind of evens out eventually.
After reading about this current fiasco, I had a little think about how I would have felt finding my work used like this. And you know what? …to be perfectly honest I think I would just be Amused. Amused and Flattered. I would not have sued. Laura Nassef has not actually lost anything through this. If she’d never found out about it, she’d be none the worse off. As things have panned out, her reputation has probably been bolstered.
I have nothing against Laura or Lizzy Stewart (certainly not jealous) – it’s just not my kind of work and I fail to share the enthusiasm for it (I DO find it a bit twee and whimsical). I completely sympathise with their horrible situation. But it’s their so-called ’supporters’ that are really pissing me off by trying to destroy someone’s life.
In fact, I’m gettin quite close to offering Samantha Beeston a job just to fuck off the rest of you.
Please, just let it go………
“Baron” whatever-
YOU let it go. Get lost. Why are you even trolling here? Your hyperbole is so ludicrous. NO ONE has tried to “destroy [anyone's] life” here with the exception of Beeston trying to wholesale steal Nassef’s entire online portfolio (plus a few random others for good measure). There is simply NO “poor girl” thing happening here.
The other poster is right–great chances for some important dialogue about this sort of situation are being passed up.
Whatever pax has been made between the plagiarist ad the original artists is one thing; what is disturbing is how many people are ignorant of WHAT or WHY what she did is wrong. And how incredibly wrong it is. How it goes to the heart of what we are and what we do. How it has NOTHING to do with whether anyone “likes” this or that work or not. Unreal.
People are only reacting to an especially outrageous case of plagiarism. I think you get that, but are playing the arsehole for your own kicks. YOU are the one stirring the pot. Yeah, go ahead, offer her a job-your requirements are probably up to her standard as you have NO idea what her actual work looks like and apparently couldn’t care less. You think thieves are cool, eh?
If anyone should GTFO of a site devoted solely to artistic plagiarism it’s such as you (and btw there are many hundreds more entries here than on just this one person-hardly a case of targeted character assassination. You steal, you get busted-you lose).
Baron, are you serious saying its OK to steal someone’s work and pass it off as your own? OK, listen students, your “daddy” Baron says it’s OK to steal, go and rip off the portfolio of pentagram and get a flawless degree. Baron, anyone with that kind of miss-fired comments is a nobody, so stop acting like your more than that. What kind of business are you running then, eh, Baron? a burger van? This whole debate is made far worse by the emergence of so many silly people that are, apparently, working in the creative industry.
Baron= just noticed you seem to be dedicating a lot of your precious time defending samantha beeston on this website- are you taking a “personal” interest in this. let’s see some of your ripped off work? or do you not even have a website big cheeeeese?
Baron Samedi:
I can understand to some degree where you’re coming from, the reaction to this is huge (and in some small percentage of posts very volatile). But this is no character assassination, this is ripping in its purest form with an excrutiating amount of evidence against Samantha so there -will- be a lot of words said.
And I value your optimism on the subject of people ripping off your work. However, you seem to have gone at this at the perspective of a successful artist such as yourself with money and connections to fall back on.
Imagine then, you were a qualified artist barely getting off the ground. Yet money was tight, you’re about to get evicted because your rent is long overdue, then you see on your delapidated portable tv that a young artist has managed to attract the right eyes and has won $750 on entries that were obviously your own artwork.
I am sure flattery and amusement are not the first things you would feel.
Now I’m not saying that Lauren Nassef or other victims are in that sort of situation, they MAY be earning the unreasonable amounts of money you say you get at some points, but understand that a lot of people on this and other sites are barely getting by despite working as hard and as creatively as they possibly can, and you can’t really blame people for being outraged for all this.
Yeah, there’ve been one or two comments that have made me go “Steady on, she’s no serial killer” but this has got to take its course. If you do thieve, and get caught, you can’t expect to come out smelling of roses.
Finally on a closing note. You might want to hold off on starting your posts with “Hey children, listen to your father” it does make you look like a troll and the moment I read it, ironically made me think it was a very childish gesture.
Amy – where in my post does it say that I want SB to apologise to us? you seem to have plucked that out of thin air. A ’statement in her defense’ does not equate ‘I want her to apologise. Indeed, as you quite correctly pointed out, she doesn’t owe anyone here an apology.I was simply marvelling at the silence at the centre of all this. Like most storms, the centre is the most still.
I, like most people posting on this site, am interested in the outcome and the workings of this situation as you obviously are, otherwise you wouldn’t be waiting in the wings to defend her.
This is not the only case of plagiarism in the art world. There are far more cynical individuals and large corporations out there who would not think twice about stealing your work. One person got caught and it appears like they are paying the price for all the other transgressors.
What if a Chinese company uses an English art student’s work with out any credit? It is a far wider debate and the problem is growing but what can you do about it?
I think what’s most upsetting is that Samantha didn’t just jack the work to fulfill school assignments, get a grade and subsequently a degree, but that she went further and bankrolled the plagiarized work. Stealing the work of others is bad enough, but gaining monetarily from it is just dead wrong.
She got greedy, rolled the dice and crapped out. Her career is over, and rightly so as far as I’m concerned. She’d be a liability for any employer at this point. And don’t give me this “Oh, you guys are being too harsh” bullshit. Examples have to be made and this is a perfect opportunity for that. People devalue the creative services industry enough as it is. If you let this shit go on unabated, then you’re part of the problem.
Laura Naffness got what she deserved. She picked this one. Time to take your just desserts like a man.
So… am I to understand there will be no statement? I’ve been wondering what her excuse for doing this was. Oh well.
It’s a shame too because I like what she did to Laura’s works. The girl obviously has some talent. Too bad she wasn’t it on thievery. Like stated above I too hope she gets a pen name and gets cracking on her own stuff.
I am just wondering if she realised what she was doing? I think students are encouraged to incorporate iconic images in work these days (I teach a few days in a college for slightly younger students and their work is full of ‘influences’, things copied form the web and cut form magazines)and it looks like thats what she’s done. She should have acknowledged it of course and given due credit. I feel sorry for both of them.
That always seriously annoyed me while studying how much we were expected to pretty much just completely knock off somebody elses work – come up with your own interpretation and that wasn’t close enough?! It was pretty much recreate an artists original image as close as possible with your own hands and you’ll get a pat on the back.
Er, ‘Baron Samedi’ is not a real person, folks….
[...] the comments are pretty damning and harsh. Further to this the situation has also been profiled on You thought we wouldn’t notice whose sole aim usually is highlight example of adaption / plagiarism like this. Unfortunately, I [...]
I hope Sam is alright there is a whole lot of depressing stuff surrounding this subject. She’s a pretty cool girl,, hope she’s coping with this pretty intense onslaught of internet based ranting
“I hope Sam is alright there is a whole lot of depressing stuff surrounding this subject.”
Yeah, poor Sam….I mean, it’s not as if she brought ANY of this on herself! Oh, wait…
If you really know her personally-well enough to affirm what a “pretty cool girl” she is-write her a personal email of support. You might ask her what she was thinking while you’re at it. She might have got away a lot longer with it if she hadn’t posted the stolen work of others as her own on a website–the “internet-based” part of all this was HER choice. Very stupid.
This is a forum for discussing plagiarism. Which Sam committed over & over & over again. Which is why all the “depressing stuff surrounding this subject”.
actually, I think many ‘artists’ in this era trace and claim it as their own work . example, shepard fairey is having a problem with his Obama poster he made (HOPE) , that was someones photo. and he uses many old 1920’s posters that he claims as his own , he reworks them to a point, but not that much. also this grafitti artist becca midwood from san francisco traces her images, –sewing patterns and images from childrens books . pastes them up and uses them as her paintings. most people dont know. but i think people should know that it wasnt original , especially if said artists are making a profit.
Shepard fairey lawsuit
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003993091
becca midwoods traced images
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV3tOdzyXTY
there are so many copycats out there…
jerry: Any proof to go with that becca claim? I sure didn’t see any in that video. Unfounded claims don’t help this discussion.
On to a lighter note, please can I post this..
* Experience an Indian Summer * http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130084162960&ref=mf ++ directly help these little sweethearts ++ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhAlmeQY28g
These kids have pure souls x
nomad. yes. simplicity and mcalls patterns for sewing and various childrens books. I know her work and how she works. she has been doing it for years. projecting and tracing.
People shouldn’t copy. If you call yourself an artist you should be capable of drawing your own figures. Or taking your own photos. Well, at least that’s the theory. But it seems rip-offs (or ‘appropriation’) have been with us for some time. Only now is the extent being rumbled. I’m shocked looking at other cases on this website how extensive it is. This girl seems to be a student but some of the others are well-known professionals with established reputations. Personally I would be embarrassed to be doing such stuff.
Maybe some people equate it with ’sampling’ in pop music. Fine art has a long tradition of incorporating ‘found’ material. Maybe each younger generation understands less the fine distinctions between ‘referencing’ and just simply copying wholesale.
Bit depressing though.
I’m sure this has been seen before, but probably worth posting again:
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm
Disney actually has their characters copyrighted extensively.. like mickey mouse.. I leafed through Beccas work and she uses the disney Tinkerbell. I do know that certain images can be used if the art is a commentary .
hey jerry, look up the word proof in a dictionary sometime.
hey nomad. sorry about seeming lame or vague with my responce but I am telling you the 100 percent truth. I know how this person works. If you do not believe me, please see for yourself and contact people that work with her. her current galleries etc. Some people of course DO not know, as she is secretive about how she gets her images, but some do know. but ultimately to her, like shepard , I am sure, if they do get confronted for tracing publicly they see it as more press.
http://www.tineye.com
has anyone checked this site out.. I guess in the future it will serve pretty well. but right now none of the images I KNOW are traced or taken etc have been found.
I would like to know the bounds on fair usage. How far does it go.
http://walartinc.com/shop/becca/
Check here for images. there are even some identical images. like that animane/animal . not to mention BETTY BOOP, whom is copyrighted by Max fleisher.
Jerry: You’d be better to create new entries on this site about these artists rather than derailing the comments sections of other entries. It’s a pretty simple process to create a new entry – go do that and leave us to talk more of Beeston and her craziness…
The dogs bark… the caravan moves on…
Ok, will do.. sorry if i spammed this section unintentionally. just thought the subject was about all tracing, stealing, appropriation, capitilizing on others hard work..
Jennifer: you’re just another mutt, apparently ; )
The sad thing is I really like what she did with Laura’s works. They would’ve made some kick ass fabric prints. She’s got a real eye for piecing that shit together.
I think someone should post a photo of Lauren Nassef and whoever is prettiest is the winner.
..or maybe they can both pose in moist t-shirts…
jerry – why post something so irrelevant and base?
“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.”
-Pablo Picasso.
I really don’t understand why people love spamming that Picasso quote. Does it make you feel so intelligent and cultured, copying and pasting a phrase whose meaning you clearly do not grasp?
Also, it doesn’t matter how cute or attractive this person is, she should feel bad because what she did was bad (and idiotic). Why are people in this comment field so shallow? It doesn’t matter if she wasn’t cackling evilly as she traced, or something stupid like that. I really wonder how far she was going to take this thievery if she wasn’t called out.
load of jealous munters
“load of jealous munters”
You’re so right–all these fools who see nothing wrong with thievery on this scale are a load of jealous whatevers–very very obviously jealous of Lauren Nassef and artists like her who actually can DRAW and create.
But they sure do bring the lulz!
hey ‘oh brother’:
munting chav. Do one….
I actually can’t help but wonder what this Sam would produce if she created something HERSELF. Change you name and start again I’d say. But do everything your own way.
Salvador Dalí once said, “There’s nothing as genuine as copying” Ms. Beeston did a very bad deed by submitting copied work from other artist to win money out of it –not that I’d blame her; for Woddy Allen also said, “If you’re gonna copy, copy from the best”, so if you think about it, as long as the truth is out there -regardless of any monetary compensation- the act of forgery is somehow flattering to the actual author of the ‘work’ in question.
And so the story goes to show that the capitalist of opportunities is the one to blame, and we all have some of that within, regardless of principles, creed or whatever.
I came across this website at random during my wanderings online and inevitably stumbled across this particular post.
Wow.
Seriously, wow.
As an artist, I must say I feel a lot of empathy towards fellow creative types that have had their art stolen/traced/copied/whatever by another ‘artist.’
I get the impression that Ms. Beeston didn’t do this out of any sort malicious intent. Unfortunately, she just sounds like the type of person who is incredibly eager to impress her peers, no matter what the cost. She simply got caught up in her own lies and before she knew it, it was too late. She was simply a naive fool who bit off more than she could chew.
I find it fascinating that while the Internet has made such blatant plagiarism incredibly easy, on the flip-side it makes such plagiarism hard to get away with.
I sincerely hope that Ms. Beeston’s life isn’t ruined by this whole debacle, I’m sure she could always gain employment at her local McDonalds.
@J.Cullen: why the snide McDonalds swipe at the end of your post? A quick look at your site and it seems highly unlikely that you’ll ever be troubled by plagiarists….
I’m only vaguely familiar with the story here, but after seeing Beeston’s work, I’m glad she’s been torn down; NOT because I want to see her ruined, but because it’s clear she’s got the knowhow to make it on her own steam, and that hopefully, this incident is a wakeup call.
There are many artists who feel their own ideas are not good enough for the illustration world. How this is dealt with depends on the artist, but this isn’t the first case I’ved seen where a lack of self-confidence has lead to stolen and/or traced artwork. By the looks of things, Beeston has skill enough that she could be producing her own works – she merely lacks the confidence to do so. As an inevitable result, this entire debacle has come down on her, and hard.
I’m not condoning what Beeston has done, and I’m glad karma gave her due consequence, but I believe that with the right mindset, she could possibly have a career and identity of her own…under a pseudonym, of course. Let this be a lesson to you, kids.
Oh, and Tarquin: I’d love to see *your* Deviantart webcam photo gallery, hero.
It’s hard enough to make it in the creative world without other designers stealing your work.
And to profit from it is bloody low.
Disgrace.
@Ty: I think it’s going to be hard for her to gain any reputation in the near future as this will constantly come back to haunt her.
Plus her uni mates know about it too.
there’s only one thing for her to do….sex change
and be forever known as Dave.
Is that what you did, ‘Gary’?
@ Julia
Aaaargh the secret’s out!!!
Hi, I studied textile with sam at Falmouth university. I was shocked when i found out only today what she had done. I cant believe someone who from what I could see had natural talent do such a terrible thing. What sicken me the most is she stands there very proud of what she has achieved when all along it was a lie. I can not understand how she could do this, it doesnt make sense to me. I hope sam understands what she has done, and how she has now thrown away any chance at a career in textile design!! such a shame
i hope she has had her degree taken away
i think she has had everything taken away, it doesnt look good for the university and students especially seen as most of us work our asses off to achieve good designs. I just hope people will not judge and taint other falmouth students in the same light.
The trouble is that until this debacle no-one had ever heard of Falmouth. Now it will be forever associated with students that rip-off their course work in collusion with their tutors. Everyone loses.
you can take the girl out of Telford…
I can confirm that she has had her degree taken away from her, with no chance of repeating.
Awesome that you even got a photo of this talentless scumbag
NOW THIS IS A RIP!!!
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS SITE BACK INTO THE REALM OF “READABLE”,
THEMGMT
lawl forever at some of the “artists” here saying that they’ve been ripped off ~so much~, but that they really don’t care, and that you’re all being ~so mean~ to this poor girl. what fucking morons! if someone steals your work, and you’ve got enough evidence to fight the case, you fucking go for the neck, not just for the money, but for your pride as an artist!
what sort of steaming dog shit artist says something like “oooh, I’m so flattered you traced my work and used it to win a prestigious award and the cash and connections that come with it~!” all you spineless fucks please go suck a cock and choke to death on it.
beast so savage frightened to put their name or website to their post. Asswipe.
Wow, this is truly shocking, I think news has reached all Uni’s now. I attend De Montfort and this was shown to us. So shocking. I base my textiles work on illustration and would be horrified if somebody had so blatanlty taken my drawings!