Artist Jeff Koons has, once again, been accused of plagiarism.
After Koons unveiled a 15-meter inflatable ballerina at Rockefeller Center in New York, social media screamed “Plagiarism”. Allegedly, the inflatable ballerina is an extra large version of a 19 centimeter high statue “Balerina Lenochka” of the 1993 Ukrainian artist Oksana Zhnikrup. Zhnikrup made it as an assignment for a ceramics factory in Kiev, where she had a job as a sculptor in 1955.
The striking resemblance was raised in an article by Artdependence , an online magazine.
One day later, a co-worker from Koons responded: “We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup’s work and have a license to use it.”
No plagiarism, but authorised licensed use.
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- Ballerina by Oksana Zhnikrup
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- Seated Ballerina by Jeff Koons