Angry citizens blast US artist for 'copying' Ukrainian sculptor's work

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May 26, 2017 12:25 AM

Koons has said his 14-metre (45-foot) -high inflatable "Seated Ballerina"was inspired by a small Russian porcelain figurine from the end of the 19th century.

The public art exhibition of a 45-foot tall inflatable nylon sculpture depicting a seated ballerina from artist Jeff Koons' Antiquity series titled "Seated Ballerina " is unveiled on May 12, 2017 at Rockefeller Center in New York

Ukrainians took to the internet Thursday to lambaste star US artist

Koons has said his 14-metre (45-foot) -high inflatable "Seated Ballerina", installed this month above the statue of Hercules at Rockefeller Center, was inspired by a small Russian porcelain figurine from the end of the 19th century.

But many Ukrainians are crying foul, calling it a ripoff of "The Ballerina Lenochka", a porcelain statuette by Oksana Zhnikrup (1931-1993).

A spokeswoman for Koons, Lauran Rothstein, told AFP in an email that "We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup's work and have a license to use it for Mr. Koons's work."

That apparently did little to calm Ukrainian tempers against the neo-pop artist.

"I hope that he has noted the source of his inspiration. If he forgot to do so, I advise the Ukrainian government to file a case," Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Roitburd said in a Facebook post.

"America will be surprised to see that we don't have just corruption and war, but also art," he said.

Koons has been accused of plagiarism before: In March he was ordered to pay a fine over his "Naked" sculpture, which was deemed a "counterfeit" of a French photograph.

Before that, he had been accused three times of copying works, and convicted twice.

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