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Who knew my child's creative designs could be worth over $120K as "Art"?
Two artists are about to face off in court over their duct taped fruit. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is facing a copyright legal battle over duct-taping a banana to the wall. It's a piece he called "Comedian". The artwork was hailed as amazing "genius idea" but that may not be the case. Joe Morford, from Glendale, California, say he did it 2 decades earlier and that Cattelan stole his idea. Banana & Orange, was the original idea from Morford, who also duct taped both a banana and orange to a wall.
Morford claims on Facebook and in court that, “I did this in 2000. But some dude steals my junk and pimps it for 120K+ in 2019. Plagiarism…?” However, Cattelan defended his work saying, “[Morford] cannot own the idea of a real banana duct-taped to a wall”, claiming his fruit was synthetic. Also, he claims that buyers of his art were purchasing instructions on how to place the fruit on the wall, not the art piece itself.
US district judge Robert N Scola Jr agreed that the art pieces were very similar. He stated in a ruling, "“the alleged infringement of Morford’s banana is sufficient, quantitatively and qualitatively, to state a claim”.
So the lawsuit will go on as planned and this man could owe over $100K for some old fruit.
Here's the other kicker.... Cattelan's art piece no longer exists. The buyer ATE IT! And he claims is was his work of art to eat the banana.
It's sounds to me like these morons have way too much time and money. I am currently duct taping a lime to the wall and calling it "Stupidity". It's my artwork to represent dumb humans who will spend loads of cash on what most just see as toddler vandalism, in their home.
Photo: Otis OShow/iHeart Atlanta