Banana Republic rips artist Jen Stark
April 22nd, 2008 by jenst
The new Banana Republic store that just opened in London this March put up 2 window displays that are definite “inspiration” of my work without my consent (the only thing they changed are the colors). A friend who was in London took these photos thinking it was my work….and emailed me to check. Take a look:
I created these works in early 2007. They just hung the display last month, March 2008.
What do you think?
-Jen
(84 votes, average: 4.52 out of 5)
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I think you should sue. this is the most blatant ripoff I’ve ever seen.
You know, if had been only ONE of your pieces, I might have been tempted to say that they could have had a similar idea without having seen your work.
With two of them though, that’s just beyond belief.
I agree wholeheartedly. Sue them swiftly and sue them loudly.
That is terrible! I’m a huge fan of your work, Jen, and it’s awful to see it blatantly ripped off.
what do i think? i think this is what this site is supposed to be about: blatant theft of intellectual property and artistic ideas by big corporations who couldn’t give a shit. give em hell…
Wow, that’s really neat the way you created the originals. I love the reverse layering. Go get ‘em!
I agree with gegtik – if it had just been the circular one it might have been a coincidence, but both… Your work is much better!
l think almost everyone in the blog / art world saw your pieces when they went on show, it was circulated to a very high degree.
it always amazes me when people in the advertising world do things like this.
Can you copyright ideas?
I don’t know if you can copyright ideas, but my neighbor, an artist, copyrights all of her work and documents it before she sells it.
That is a complete and total, blatant ripoff of your work. Damn.
Wow, someone finally posted an actual rip here. Nice work, I can see why they bit it, it’s great.
If it makes you feel any better, my friend recently took a dump in one of Banana Repugnik’s changing rooms and shoplifted a tee shirt seconds later.
@Fred – errrr.
sue!
There are stricter laws in the EU governing intellectual property re artists in how their work gets used. Jen, please use this as an example to set the bar high for the protection of your work, as well as countless others. Luckily, BR’s HQ is in the US, and you’re likely to get a large settlement regardless. However, you should strive to not allow BR to “not admit any wrongdoing” in their settlement with you. This is so common in these situations, and companies see it as a cost of doing business, yet publicly do not admit fault. Although you shouldn’t let anything drag on if you are offered something in the neighborhood of $75,000…that could buy you a lot of paper and X-Acto blades!
Good luck m’lady!
Jeff
That looks….pretty bad!
sue.
sue.
This is horrific. Get yourself a great laywer. I will post here within the next day or two how these companies find out about artists’ work… there are “legitimate” companies that actually exist just to facilitate this kind of activity.
That is just so damn low!!! grrr RALLY TOGETHER!!!
I’m surprised a big corporation like BR would be so short sided.
Sharpen the claws and hire a lawyer. But dont let it keep you from creating such beautiful stuff. I remember the first time i saw pictures of your work (5 months ago) the whole staff here was oo’s and ah’s for the evening when looking at all your pieces.
First off – I agree that the piece is HEAVILY influenced by Jen’s work – I would certainly be pissed if I were her. However I think anyone would be hard up in successfully suing over it – but I’d love to see them win, so go for it!
Secondly, I think it’s funny that there are items posted on this blog that are FAR more directly/incredulously copied and people defend them as coincidental or just similar.
..But these pieces are especially lovely and the artist herself makes the post, so now we’re all up in arms. So fickle!
ps. If you’re an artist, and your work is even halfway decent, there is about a 95% chance that some lazy ad exec or agency hack has tried to get rich exploiting it. It’s a sad world indeed..
Anon:
I get upset when people (esp. corporations) copy fine artists (as opposed to graphic/commercial artists) because there is something so ironically perverse about it.
Many artists (myself included) left commercial art or chose not to participate in the first place because we did not want to be a part of it, even though it meant we might be paid decent money for our creative ideas. We chose the higher and tougher road, the one that doesn’t pay so well, for the freedom to own and execute our ideas without restrictions, making work for the greater good, or at least for our own good. Then our ideas get co-opted anyway, to sell some product we don’t believe in, only we don’t get the credit for the idea OR the money.
Yep I agree.. I blame the internet! It’s so easy these days for someone to drag and drop an image from an artist’s website into a pitch for an ad campaign (etc).. I’ve seen it happen a million times
very much a ripoff. Good stuff though
JEN- LOVE YOUR WORK and I was such a fan of Bannana clothes until now.
Terrible….I’ll share this ripoff story with EVERYONE and WISH YOU LUCK.
Bannana did it in the UK and not the USA for a reason right?
Are the laws different there and fewer knowledgable attorneys to handle the ripoff arena?
Bannana knows it takes serious $$$$$$ but Jen your case is worth a try!
i was in londen (im a girl from the netherlands) and saw the work, i tought it was yours and found it really cool although the colors where different. sue the bastards! Xtess
I hope you have sued them or they have offered you a tidy sum to settle. One….maybe??? But, both of them, together? No way. The advertising person for the company has so very obviously seen your work, liked it, and stole it as their own. How silly of them to think you or others would not notice. Sue.
It is far more difficult to just get a laywer and sue someone in the EU as it is in the US. And very very very expensive. Usually not worth the trouble due to the costs.
Nearly a year later.. any updates? What happened?
What do I think? I think all four are a waste of perfectly good paper!
Jen, I absolutely love your work. I love it so much that I try to replicate your technique. I am doing this out of the love of the medium…PAPER! You have discovered a wonderful process of repetition and ultimately discovery. So should you sue me for replicating a technique or a process. Should H. Matisse sue you (or me) because he was really the first major artist to introduce paper into the fine art arena. It’s not all about money. As artists we have a responsibility to promote beauty and to encourage others to create beauty. I would say…enjoy the beauty you have been creating. You may want to drop bananna republic a note and request that they give you some credit for your discovery, but I don’t believe getting money from them will make you happy.Happy comes from knowing that you created what you created. Be well, my fellow paper artist, be happy and thank you for the beauty that you have inspired me with…