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Anish Kapoor sues the NRA over shot of The Bean

Shots fired

Anish Kapoor sues the NRA over shot of The Bean

Anish Kapoor, Cloud Gate (2006) in Millennium Park, Chicago. Copyright the artist. Photo: Susan May Romano (Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels.)

British artist Anish Kapoor has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the National Rifle Association over an advertisement featuring his iconic public sculpture in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Cloud Gate (2006).

The video, titled “Freedom’s Safest Place,” is part of the NRA’s “The Violence of Lies” campaign, which features multiple series of videos claiming to expose supposed irrationalities of liberal arguments and ostensible media untruths. The videos are narrated by right-wing commentator Dana Loesch and populated with images of civil unrest and violent clashes of protestors and police set to dramatic music. Kapoor claims in his complaint that the video’s entreaty to meet liberal “lies” with the “clenched fist of truth” by the pro-gun organization amounts to “a clear call to armed violence against liberals and the media.”

The video features a brief black-and-white timelapse cutaway of people walking in front of the sculpture, which is popularly and affectionately known as “The Bean.” Kapoor had already spoken out against the ad in an open letter this past March, demanding that the “nightmarish” NRA remove any visual references to his work. Three months later and with no action taken, Kapoor has filed suit demanding that the NRA cease using his work to support their “despicable platform for promoting violence” and is seeking $150,000 plus attorney fees for each infringement,  as well as a percentage of the money made through donations and membership sign-ups resulting from the offending ad.

 


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