Photo Fight

There has been a bit of a controversy brewing between two art photographers over issues of copying or plagiarizing of work. David Burdeny is being accused of plagiarizing the work Sze Tsung Leong. Both photographers work looks very similar in style and composition and both have photographed the same locations. The question becomes whether Sze Tsung Leong owns intellectual property over these compositions and subject matter. This matter is particularly important to the art dealers and gallerists. "

Sze Tsung Leong

David Burdeny

"The financial ramifications can be considerable. Leong's prints sell for as much as $25,000, and Burdeny's for up to $10,500. Confusion between the work of the two artists in the marketplace could adversely affect those values." from the Los Angeles Times.

I would argue that all of photography is intrinsically about replicating. How many photographs have been taken of the pyramids? Are some going to be similar? Odds are that some will.

Also, style comes and goes. Leong and Burdeny are both working in a contemporary landscape aesthetic defined both by the art market and the artists working today. Overlap happens constantly. It comes with the territory of art. Someone somewhere is working on a similar idea with a similar aesthetic. Is it the person that reaches the highest worth in the art market that gets to claim ownership of this idea and aesthetic?

Chad