DuSable Bust Copyright Defense
Donation protected
We have reached our gofundme goal. I (Charlotte Blome) started this campaign to help cover this unexpected expense. Erik and I are grateful to all who donated and showed their generous support on this forum and especially behind the scenes. We are now in an excellent position to move forward with the defense of Erik's DuSable copyright and look forward to fighting this in court.
NOTE: I would like to underscore the fact that no one knows exactly what Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable looked like. Like many artists before him, Erik created his own interpretation of DuSable. He hired live models, used his command of anatomy and his imagination to sculpt the bust in clay in the tradition of artists like Rodin, to arrive at the unique bronze sculpture that you see here. Erik has never claimed to "own DuSable" as some have asserted. He does, however, own the copyright to his sculpture of him.
You are supporting not only Erik's copyrights but the copyrights of all artists. Thank you again.
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This iconic sculpture of Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable by Erik Blome was sculpted, cast in bronze, officially copyrighted, installed on North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago and dedicated in 2009. It is now a familiar sight to walkers passing over the DuSable Bridge and is a signature, high profile project in Erik's portfolio.
We just learned that last year without Erik 's consent or knowledge, according to the Twitter feed of local artist Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford made a digital scan of Erik's sculpture and proceeded to digitally foam enlarge a 12' long cropped version it.
This monumental casting from Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford's scan was the central feature in a highly publicized and well-funded art exhibit and installation on the site of the future DuSable Park west of Chicago's Navy Pier organized by "The Floating Museum", an arts collective that Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford co-directs with three other artists. According to the collective's website, the above sculpture is "a monument by the Floating Museum collective (Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Faheem Majeed, Andrew Schachman, Avery R Young) to Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, Chicago’s first non-indigenous settler." We have found no evidence of Erik being credited* as the original creator of this bust and there was no compensation given to him.
This was not a one-time infraction. Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford has incorporated copies of Erik's bust of DuSable in many subsequent artworks and features it prominently on his website in many different iterations. He wrote in his Twitter feed that he is making a limited edition of a small version of the piece that was exhibited.
The original bronze sculpture is clearly signed with the copyright symbol by Erik, and "Erik Blome" is prominently displayed on the bust's accompanying plaque. A quick Google search will reveal a living artist made the work. Erik can easily be reached through his website. There is no excuse for the "Floating Museum" collective not contacting Erik to ask for permission to use his work in this way.
Artist's work is protected from such plagiarism by copyright laws, but it is up to artists whose work has been copied to stand up for themselves. This case of blatant, irreverent and unauthorized use of Erik's work needs to be addressed legally.
We are trying to raise funds to help offset the legal fees for responding to this very serious exploitation of Erik's work, harm to his reputation and apparent infringement of his copyright.
We need help with this because we do not have the funds necessary to fight this in court. Thank you.
*1/6/19 UPDATE: We noted as of today "The Floating Museum" website states the yellow foam enlargement "draws inspiration from Chicago artist Erik Blome's bronze bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable located nearby on Michigan Avenue and the north side of the river". This is inaccurate. The foam enlargement was made from a digital scan. Inspiration had nothing to do with it. CB
NOTE: I would like to underscore the fact that no one knows exactly what Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable looked like. Like many artists before him, Erik created his own interpretation of DuSable. He hired live models, used his command of anatomy and his imagination to sculpt the bust in clay in the tradition of artists like Rodin, to arrive at the unique bronze sculpture that you see here. Erik has never claimed to "own DuSable" as some have asserted. He does, however, own the copyright to his sculpture of him.
You are supporting not only Erik's copyrights but the copyrights of all artists. Thank you again.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This iconic sculpture of Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable by Erik Blome was sculpted, cast in bronze, officially copyrighted, installed on North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago and dedicated in 2009. It is now a familiar sight to walkers passing over the DuSable Bridge and is a signature, high profile project in Erik's portfolio.
We just learned that last year without Erik 's consent or knowledge, according to the Twitter feed of local artist Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford made a digital scan of Erik's sculpture and proceeded to digitally foam enlarge a 12' long cropped version it.
This monumental casting from Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford's scan was the central feature in a highly publicized and well-funded art exhibit and installation on the site of the future DuSable Park west of Chicago's Navy Pier organized by "The Floating Museum", an arts collective that Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford co-directs with three other artists. According to the collective's website, the above sculpture is "a monument by the Floating Museum collective (Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford, Faheem Majeed, Andrew Schachman, Avery R Young) to Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, Chicago’s first non-indigenous settler." We have found no evidence of Erik being credited* as the original creator of this bust and there was no compensation given to him.
This was not a one-time infraction. Mr. Hulsebos-Spofford has incorporated copies of Erik's bust of DuSable in many subsequent artworks and features it prominently on his website in many different iterations. He wrote in his Twitter feed that he is making a limited edition of a small version of the piece that was exhibited.
The original bronze sculpture is clearly signed with the copyright symbol by Erik, and "Erik Blome" is prominently displayed on the bust's accompanying plaque. A quick Google search will reveal a living artist made the work. Erik can easily be reached through his website. There is no excuse for the "Floating Museum" collective not contacting Erik to ask for permission to use his work in this way.
Artist's work is protected from such plagiarism by copyright laws, but it is up to artists whose work has been copied to stand up for themselves. This case of blatant, irreverent and unauthorized use of Erik's work needs to be addressed legally.
We are trying to raise funds to help offset the legal fees for responding to this very serious exploitation of Erik's work, harm to his reputation and apparent infringement of his copyright.
We need help with this because we do not have the funds necessary to fight this in court. Thank you.
*1/6/19 UPDATE: We noted as of today "The Floating Museum" website states the yellow foam enlargement "draws inspiration from Chicago artist Erik Blome's bronze bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable located nearby on Michigan Avenue and the north side of the river". This is inaccurate. The foam enlargement was made from a digital scan. Inspiration had nothing to do with it. CB
Organizer
Erik Blome
Organizer
Crystal Lake, IL
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