@yoursaltness
ok so i dont have the original post that detailed exactly why, actually, anish kapoor did not deserve all the shit he got, because i can only find stuff against kapoor by looking him up (which is part of the problem..) but basically what i recall on this (do NOT quote me bc this is just my recollection of reading a much better overview of this issue which i cant find anymore):
1. the pigment anish kapoor copyrighted, vantablack, was never originally going to be made for public use, and therefore he wasnt “stealing” its use from other artists
2. vantablack was not an art pigment in the first place and generally not useable for most art, and was not made for art.
3. stuart semple already was going to release his pigments before the anish kapoor copyright happened, and just jumped on it as a publicity stunt.
the root of the issue is that stuart semple, a white british artist, painted himself as this big proletariat hero SAVING ART from the evil indian rich person, even though semple is rich himself, and his use of an artist of color as a stepping stone for publicity while villainizing him as greedy and selfish was cheered on by everyone everywhere - including me! i also fell for it!
i dont exactly care about kapoor. hes a very rich man, which i despise, and i dont hold his art in my heart either. but its more about the fact that we all fell into the trap of making a man of colors whole career into a big old farce for the benefit of a white competitor, and if we can do it to a VERY RICH man of color, then were doing it to people of color everywhere who dont have kapoors millions. so thats the issue for me ig
i like to believe that if the kapoor/semple feud happened today i would be smart and discerning enough to actually look into the facts instead of jumping on the bandwagon of treating people of color as cartoon villains the moment a white person paints them like such in the media. but idk that i really would, and maybe id fall for it again. i think its a good reminder that just because someone is telling a good story, or an entertaining or satisfying one, doesnt mean the story is true, and that we shouldnt question it when its about the real world.
oh yeah, also, millionaire semple didnt pay his employees, who were fellow artists. proletariat hero indeed! this is from 2014, the kapoor drama started in 2016, so i wouldnt be surprised if he started it not just for the benefit of his own reputation and publicity for his product, but also to build himself a better image after defrauding smaller artists.
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