DFA revokes ASEAN art prize for 'plagiarism'

[Monseratto]

Not another one... I guess if Sotto can get away with it...

DFA revokes ASEAN art prize for 'plagiarism'

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday, May 21, revoked the top prize given to a Filipino painter after an investigation showed that the winning art work was plagiarized.

The painting entitled "Fast to the Future" by graphic artist Christian Joy Trinidad won first place and a cash prize of P50,000 in the ASEAN-Philippines Painting Contest held from May to July 2013 in celebration of the 46th founding anniversary of the ASEAN.

The art work features a woman wearing a helmet-like device and surrounded by images of balloons, planes, children and other visual elements.

The department conducted an investigation after it received complaints that the artwork was plagiarized from the work of Spanish digital artist Nekro.

In a statement given to Rappler on May 21, Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, the DFA spokesperson, said the judges of the competition found that "the subject entry was not completely original, which is a major criterion of the competition."

Jose added that the judges want Trinidad to return the cash prize and the Certificate of Excellence. He is also expected to "issue an apology for submitting an entry copied from the work of another artist."

On March 31, Spanish digital artist Nekro claimed authorship of the work “Music for my eyes” after friends brought the suspected plagiarism to his attention.

He thanked Filipino netizens for informing him about Trinidad's work and asked organizers to address the situation.

Nekro, however, commented that he wasn’t out for Trinidad’s blood. He just wanted the erring artist to apologize.

“I'm just asking him to accept the plagiarism (sic) and to be fair with the other contestants,” the Spanish artist said.

In a GMA News interview aired April 1, Trinidad defended his work.

“Hindi ko naman inaangkin yung image na ginawa kong reference. Ginawa ko syang totally na reference. Na-inspire ako sa kanya. Nilagyan ko sya ng ibang flavor, nagdagdag ako ng iba-ibang istorya,” he is quoted as saying.

(I’m not claiming the work that I used as a reference. I made it a reference because I was inspired by it. I incorporated a different flavor and added different narratives.)

He added that he had no bad intentions in “referencing” another artist’s work for his own, and that he would cooperate with the DFA investigation regarding the matter.

Rappler tried to get the side of Trinidad but was unable to reach him.

[falken]

Halos kinopya na lahat, di na referencing iyan.

[K.I.L.L.]

This is embarrassing. This is the second international contest wherein a supposed artist submitted a work that is not completely or really theirs. It wasn't so long ago when that would-be photographer submitted a photo that wasn't his.

It looks like the Intellectual Property Office needs to do a lot of information campaigns on copyright.

[CVT]

Ang galing talaga ng internet,- boon and bane.....


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