I am scared to share this with you, because I know I am going to have an unpopular opinion. But here goes: Where is the line between copy and inspiration?
Before I start on something that has been really consuming me (this NOOWORKS situation), I want to admit something. I am someone who has copied (intentionally and unintentionally) people and has had people copy me (literally it happens all the time and sometimes down to the line; I have also taken legal action against large companies for use without consent.) Here is one example:
It looks so similar I could have almost traced it (even tho I didn’t)
Let’s celebrate you, by People I’ve Loved (me, every art history teacher, museum, friend, family, and human interaction)
Dance by Matisse (just Matisse. We only credit him. He was a genius.)
Or take this example, last year, Cold Picnic sent me a cease and desist letter over our Butt Pillow looking too much like their Butt Rug:
In my opinion, the person who really should be mad is Piccasso:
In the case of Cold Picnic, I was able to prove that I had made the butt pillow before they did. It was just that it was now in blue. And they dropped it. I think at the time they had been having lots of stuff ripped off and were tender about it. I don’t blame them. I don’t think they saw mine before they did it. I just think it is possible, to have two things that are similar come out at the same time.
I don’t remember seeing the Picasso version before this incident, but I must have. I must have hidden the image back in my subconscious and earmarked it. I have personally given myself permission to use Western art as a muse. Dead people within my linage are fair game for inspiration for me in this moment. I am sure that will change.
There are several people selling this print on Etsy (different versions, all over the world, some look exactly the same, others are slightly different, see below)….
Above image from a 5-star seller in Pennsylvania.
My image from 2011. Our top-selling print. This print allows us to eat. Yes, food.
Sometimes when I am in a foul mood - I ask people to change it more so it looks less like ours. But mostly, I tell myself, I have enough. And I am flattered that someone else liked it enough to copy it. I hope they are making enough too, feeding their kids, paying their heat bill. Etc.
Over the weekend at a party, I was reminded of a tender spot when I was called out for being a capitalist. It was the MOST offensive thing anyone could have ever said to me. I cried. It felt like being called out as a murderer. Like my doing anything for money was like being a bottom feeder, low life, scum. Accepting money from large companies was like taking money from the devil. All because I made the comment that I listened to the Harvard Business Review from time to time about how to run a business and be a nice person to the people who work with you. Never mind that there was a poster right behind my head that read: Down with Capitalism… The poster’s mid-point had been hung at my exact eye level, thus looking into my eyes and seeing the poster at the same moment was unavoidable.
I learned to be careful who I tell things to. Not so much that I want to hide that I have a business, but more so because life is complicated. That people have to use their experience to judge others, and sometimes I want to skirt that judgment and have the benefit of the doubt.
Last week, I ran into a situation that I have been thinking about with a brand that I had a pattern with earlier in the year. From my vantage point, NOOWORKS is a small company that is genuinely trying to do what is right in retail. They hire artists to do limited runs of clothing. They have been around the Bay Area for as long as I can remember. All their work is sourced in the USA (this is hard… I try so hard to have everything made in the USA. You want to know what would be helpful? If people living in the USA would pay the prices it takes to make things in the USA. People, like me, buying from Zara, we are the problem. We can’t have cheap things and pay people a living wage on the other end. Things don’t add up. I am as guilty as anyone. But I digress.
The issue was with the below pattern:
Looking too much like the art of this artist:
After posting the first image of the pattern, the internet made the connection and immediately called NOOWORKS out. Now, I want to say, I believe it is important to be honest. And hold each other accountable. We need each other to keep us in check. I am all for that. Immediately, the judgment was made that the person deserving credit for this pattern was JOÃO INCERTI, an artist and muralist based in Rio. (You should check out his work. I didn’t know about him until this, but it is really really really good.) Better yet, buy something from his store.
From what I can tell, the artist who made the pattern is a white lady living in LA. She makes textile designs. When the post went live, she deleted all of her social media. Public service announcement: when you delete your trail, people assume you are guilty. I would argue that the truth will always set you free. But maybe the hate was just too much for her. I don’t know. Maybe if I was her I would have taken it down too. Who knows? I feel lucky in this moment I am not her. But we both are humans just trying to get by.
But something didn’t sit with me about the whole thing. And I am trying to tease out what that might be.
In the comments section on the NOOWORKS ig page, people talked about how it was just another example of a white person taking advantage of a brown person. This could be true. But the Rio-based artist has much more fame and success, from what I can tell online. He is the Goliath in this situation, he just happens to have brown skin. I would argue this is rightly so, his work in my opinion is objectively more cohesive and better executed. He seems to be doing just fine, but somehow he is presented to be the victim of theft and needs to be compensated for his brilliance.
Another critique of the design was that regardless of the connection to the artist, that it was broadly speaking cultural appropriation. White people do do this all the time. Even if it is not conscious, there is a cross-cultural exchange that typically benefits people who live in the north and have lighter skin. It’s just a thing.
The issue I have with this argument is that it is tricky. There are folk art traditions globally. Humans have been recording things, life, in simple means for, well, a long ass time. Can a style really be attributed to only one culture? Is it possible to trace it? Thinking back to every interaction, every sea voyage, every migration pattern, the things we think we own, or that our ideas have very real origins outside of our consciousness. The massive undertaking to understand how epigenetics work, and somehow instill in us our ability to transfer information to other humans is a miracle. And yet it happens every day. We do it without thinking.
In lots of Joao’s work, tigers make an appearance. However, Tigers are not native to Brazil. Does that mean that Joao should not be able to draw Tigers? I think his tigers are lovely. He should totally draw tigers.
The guts of my argument are this: I don’t think we should cancel people who are just trying to get by. I think people all deserve to have their needs met. I think all people are learning and growing and having ideas that interact with other ideas. The problem is that historically, we have two ideas that are in conflict with each other.
That ideas have an origin, that they are singular and own-able. That a genius is something that is celebrated and ideas are not just continuations of other ideas.
That we owe all humans recognition of their inherent worth. That being in conversation with each other when we all have resources is silly. I want to support both artists and NOOWORKS. I want to celebrate people who are doing things that they believe in and find joy in. In this situation, if the textile artist had seen Joao’s work, if she would have just admitted it, perhaps things would have turned out different. (It is also still conceivable to me that she had never seen his work, that she was working within the cultural vernacular).
I want to believe that there is enough to go around for all of us. And I am not saying that we should go into things with the intention of stealing from others, I am sure they didn’t in this situation, but the intention of expanding the conversation and making sure that we are all taken care of.
There is one final question that I have been asking myself. Why do we enjoy bringing people down? Villainizing other people for their choices? Does it make us feel good? Who is it serving? I am not above it. I do it all the time. I judge someone for cutting me off on the highway. How could they make such a reckless decision? They put so many people in danger.
I want to offer you a place where we can talk about things without blame. This moment feels like a moment when the earth is hurting and we will need each other to get by.
Coming up later this week, I’m so excited to be talking with Maggie Smith on her new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful. The book is lyrical, poetic, powerful, heartbreaking, and beautiful. It is just so good. We have a couple copies to giveaway to our US-based readers. Leave a comment if you’d be interested, or pick up a copy here. Maggie also has a substack that everyone should read. More soon!
Absolutely loved reading this. I’m currently writing a cookbook and live in fear of subconsciously copying another book author. Thank you for bringing clarity, compassion and humour to an incredibly contentious issue 💛
hello carissa, thank you for bravely putting your heart on the page with this topic. you make some very good points from both sides of this issue (copying/cultural appropriation). honestly, there is no one right answer. but you're doing the thing that helps to make the world better, opening conversations about difficult topics that impact us all. i also agree with the point you made about the unhelpfulness of villainizing and bringing people down. ultimately, we're all human and we all make mistakes. owning our part is how we reconcile and move forward, no matter what individual role we play. it's conversations like these that are more likely to soften hearts and inspire more truth. thank you again for sharing and holding space for others to share.