jack pierson vs. barneys

One of the faked Piersons in Barneys, photo from TimeOut

I just read in TimeOut this morning about the legal battle between artist Jack Pierson (or really the gallery who represents him, Cheim & Read) and Barneys (namely the Creative Director, Simon Doonan, who claims to have never heard of Jack Pierson, and that the store's visual displays that directly copy the artist's word sculptures are purely coincidence). For more of the story check out page 10 of this week's magazine. Or read this blog entry by Edward Winkleman. I too thought they were real Jack Piersons when I was in the store.

My favorite part is that the party doing the knocking-off gets discounted in the public eye. Cheim & Read sent out a press release that included the following:

"Around a year or so ago, imitations or forgeries of these works began to appear in Barneys clothing stores throughout the country saying such things as 'fabulous, courageous, and outrageous.' They are formally weak plagiarized versions of Jack Pierson's work, and we want you to know that they are not by Jack Pierson."

Cheim concluded: "We regret this lack of integrity on the part of... Barneys. They obviously have no respect for artists or the art world." (source: NY Daily News)

Go Cheim & Read!