(Credits: Paul Banks)
Interpol have shared an apology after using an artist’s work without permission for one of their tour posters, promoting their forthcoming 20th anniversary tour for Antics.
20 years on from the release of their 2004 album Antics, Interpol are preparing to tour across the UK and Europe. Hitting venues in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and beyond before culminating in a big show at London’s Alexandra Palace, the tour will then be followed with a string of US dates. The tour will see them play the album in full from start to finish, giving original fans a chance to celebrate one of their earlier albums.
However, the poster for the tour has now caused controversy after one artist accused the band of plagiarising their work. The poster resembles the work of New York-based mural and studio artist Tony Sjöman.
In particular, it resembles one mural that he did on commission, so while it’s not an exact replica, the similarities are strong enough to have angered the artist. In response, his friend called the band out on social media.
“At first, when I saw this amazing new tour poster from Interpol, I jumped at the idea of my friend getting such a cool project to work on… as I reached out to Rubin Art / Tony Sjoman with a picture, he said where did you find this?” his friend wrote on his Instagram account.
“I pointed him to the post and he let me know they flat out stole this artwork and repurposed it for their own marketing… they didn’t reach out, they didn’t ask for permission,” he continued.
“As an art supporter and as a licensing professional… I am beyond disbelief they would do this,” he concluded, asking friends and fans to tag the bad in an attempt to draw their attention to this issue or confront them about their behaviour.
In response, New York band Interpol has issued an apology to Sjöman, claiming they would never knowingly plagiarise an artist’s work. “Interpol would like to apologise to Tony Sjöman and acknowledge that all usage of his work was without his consent or prior discussion,” the band said in a statement.
“We were under the impression that the designer we were working with was presenting us with original work. We were wrong,” they continued, claiming they had no knowledge that the work had been stolen or at least greatly influenced by that of another.
But the band didn’t just shift blame onto their designed. Instead, they took full responsibility as they added, “Ultimately the responsibility lies with us to ensure we do not disseminate an artist’s work without their permission in our promotions, and so for that reason we apologize and pledge to do better moving forward to ensure the protection of the artist’s creative property.”
Luckily, Sjöman was a fan of the band, so has accepted their apology. “Having your work plagiarized is unfortunate, but the way in which Interpol immediately took action is both rare and admirable,” he said, even using his own statement to promote the band’s upcoming tour.
He concluded: “The irony of it all is that (as a decades long fan of their music) I would have loved this commission! If you haven’t in a while – crank up Antics the bands’ sophomore album celebrating 20 years this summer, it’s great!”
