NYT Touts White House Artworks, Misses Obvious Copy, Apparent Fraud (Freeper Breaks the Story)

Freeper Investigation ^ | 10-7-09 | Freeper

[Atlas Sneezed]

Yesterday, the NYT ran a story about the White House acquiring art. It included a slide show of a dozen artworks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/arts/design/07borrow.html?_r=1

This Freeper took a look and found one abstract work he admired:

"Watusi (Hard Edge)," by Alma Thomas, a longtime Washington resident who is an African-American painter. Photo: Gift of Vincent Melzac/Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

As I admired it, I thought it reminiscent, even derivative of a favorite artwork of mine by Matisse. I recall seeing that one decades ago at the Tate Gallery in London. A giant collage (about ten feet tall) from late in Matisse's life, when his eyesight was failing:

The Snail (L'escargot), by Henri Matisse, Nice-Cimiez, Hotel Regina, [summer 1952-early] 1953, Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, on white paper, 9'4 3/4" x 9' 5" (287 x 288 cm) collection Tate Gallery, London.

I had planned to post them for comparison, and to share my admiration for both. But when I saw them side-by-side, the similarity clarified. I realized that the new one was EXACTLY the same composition as the Matisse, rotated 90 degrees.

Is this fraud? If the new piece has been titled "Homage to Collage" or "Matisse in Blue", I would think the artist wasn't trying to hide the copying. But I wonder whether anyone realized that the artist copied almost every aspect of a famous work to sell her artwork. Perhaps everyone involved knew that this is a re-colored reprint. If not, it seems to be an embarrassment for the "sophisticates" who failed to spot a copy hiding in plain sight.

As too many people say about abstract expressionist art: "Even I could have done THAT!"

[angkor]

Let's try that side-by-side:

[Pan_Yan]

Matisse Ping

[latina4dubya]

It does appear that it is an exact copy recolored.

yes--and the rip-off is turned on it's side...

[jennyjenny]

Just words art.

[Pan_Yan]

She rotated it 90 degrees and didn’t even bother to rearrange the shapes.

[donna]

Post-it notes.

[Moose4]

We need a Charles-Johnson-esque animated GIF of those two paintings with one rotated 90 degrees so they line up exactly with each other...except we can’t count on him to do it because he’s reverted to his ponytailed liberal pre-9/11 self and is fully sniffing Obama’s Skittles-scented farts.

}:-)4

[Drango]

and the rip-off is turned on it's side...

Someone with better skills than I will overlay and rotate one ....

[hattend]

A giant collage (about ten feet tall) from late in Matisse's life, when his eyesight was failing

Obviously

[Roccus]

She’s dead, Jim.

[machogirl]

that is funny. they aren’t old enough to be in grad school yet.

[Red Badger]

Side by side..........

[donna]

Just like the President, a pale imitation of the real thing.

Very nice catch!

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Sweet, can I get a copy ?

[hattend]

Piss christ? (note the small c)

[machogirl]

lol

[TChris]

Here are BOTH paintings, the original Matisse rotated 90°, and overlaid with the other.

Clearly, it's a copy of the layout.

[Liberty Valance]

*art fraud ping*

[petitfour]

Speaking of lint, here is some art made with lint.

http://thelintlady.net/gallery.html

[McGruff]

That's art?