Steal this post

Before you get too deep into this post, read all about the issue at hand here. In a nutshell, it's theft of art for commercial gain.

This all started when the author/artist of Purple Pussy, Shmorky, noticed that a painting by a chap named Todd Goldman strongly resembled a panel he had done a couple of years prior for his comic. This then exploded online as people began posting to the SomethingAwful.com forums with inummerable examples of Mr. Goldman's plagiarism. Since the initial forum post on SomethingAwful, the issue has been addressed on websites such as Digg and by numerous webcomic artists (including the infamous Scott Kurtz). It's still growing, and an interview with Mr. Goldman is forthcoming.

As more and more evidence is brought to light it's starting to become painfully clear that Todd Goldman has never had an original idea in his life, and has spent his "artistic career" stealing images from people such as Shmorky and Roman Dirge and passing them off as his own. He's apparently done quite well with it: his paintings are selling for upwards of $3,000 at gallery shows. Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol (Pop artists) borrowed imagery from others as well, but didn't do it with the sole purpose of turning a profit. They did it to comment on their surroundings - what was happening in the art world; in popular culture - rather than to make a fast buck. While they could have been sued for appropriating imagery, Goldman should be sued.

Why? What's the difference? There was no subterfuge with Lichtenstein or Warhol; they used the imagery to create art. Goldman has taken imagery created by other artists, and - rather poorly - changed small details and passed it off as his own. Warhol painted the Campbell's soup cans as they appeared on supermarket shelves (admittedly, in some fairly wild colours); he didn't remove the "C" and try to sell "ampbell's" as his own idea. Todd Goldman has done this, repeatedly, and is making a living off of it - more precisely, he's making a living off of other people's creations.

As an artist, I know how incredibly difficult it is to be creative; to get that idea to germinate. It's scary and frustrating to put your work out there, but it's unforgivable to see someone steal something you've created, claim it as their own, and make a small fortune off of it.

So, spread the word. Tell those around you. Who knows - the next work that's stolen may be yours.