Viaene Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 U2 Album Artwork Branded 'Rip Off' American musician and label owner Taylor Deupree has accused U2 of copying one of his album covers for their new record. The Irish band's sleeve for "No Line On The Horizon" features the same image as Deupree's 2006 album "Specification. Fifteen". Both covers are based on a photograph by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. Deupree posted a "rant" on 12kblog entitled "U2 Album Cover…Have I Seen This Before?", attacking U2 for not researching their cover properly. "U2's forthcoming album 'No Line On The Horizon' is nearly an exact rip-off of mine and Richard Chartier's 'Specification. Fifteen', which came out a couple of years ago," Deupree wrote. However, a further post by Deupree said that he doesn't think the argument should become a legal matter. "This minor ordeal has become more a question of a project that was small, intimate and experimental (and the chance of a lifetime for a small artist) versus the massive pop culture machine," he wrote. "In the end, we all know who wins." Judge yourself: Specification. Fifteen No Line On The Horizon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Barely the same, but U2's is more in focus. It seems this unknown Mr. Deupree is after some of Bono's money and starving for publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 There are only so many paintings that look good on album covers, and there's always a chance that someone somewhere used it first. I'm with U2 on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 It's an obvious rip-off, but I don't care because I don't listen to POO2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 I agree with Carl and MC...it's all for the publicity and/or money. I would think the only problem would occur if the photographer weren't acknowledged as the creator of/inspiration for the cover art in both albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 The Church: After Everything Now This (2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel2Velvet Posted January 22, 2009 Report Share Posted January 22, 2009 What inspires one artist can very well inspire another. More than a few times I have seen photos by other photographers extremely similar to ones I have achieved. Never felt they were "copying." To claim "rip off" in art is walking across thin ice - to prove it, thinner still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 There's a difference between "inspiration" and outright plagiarism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/seascape.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 You could have 10 different photographs, by 10 different individuals of a calm sea, and the horizon in 10 different locations. Chances are fairly good the 10 are going to look pretty similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 Not with the choice of colour and tone. A Georgia O'Keefe painting looks like a Georgia O'Keefe painting, an Edward Hopper painting looks like an Edward Hopper painting, a David Hamilton photograph looks like a David Hamilton photograph. POO2's album cover looks like the other guy's. It's not as easy as it looks, or to even think up of the idea... which is why it's plagiarism rather than inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted January 23, 2009 Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I doubt U2 or their represented management ever heard of this Taylor Deupree or his album before this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 I doubt POO2 knows much about cover art. It's mainly the responsibility of their plagiarist cover designer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Barely the same, but U2's is more in focus. It seems this unknown Mr. Deupree is after some of Bono's money and starving for publicity. Ideal. Bono has plenty of money and loves to help the starving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now