So, I don't tend to make posts on here, but this is something I was made aware of recently, but haven't seen anything about it on Tumblr, so I figured I would make a post to try and raise awareness and see if something can be done. Especially since it's kind of a niche topic.
So... what's going on, I virtually hear you ask? Well...
The artist Stuart Semple has been sued.
Now... who is Stuart Semple, and why is this important?
If you're chronically on Tumblr and have been here for over a decade (like myself), you may remember Stuart Semple as the artist who had a beef with another artist named Amish Kapoor, who had trademarked the world's "blackest black," called Vantablack, and was being kind of a dick about it. (Scroll down that post a bunch to see the information about the beef. This is how I learned about the beef years ago, so I felt it was important to add.)
Semple believes that art should be accessible to everyone, and that no one should gatekeep art. As such, he went on a mission to create an even blacker black, and make it accessible to everyone. Which, by the by, he has done! Multiple times over! He's also legally changed his name to Amish Kapoor, but that is neither here nor there.
Awesome! Now y'all know all this information about Amish Kapoor (formerly known as Stuart Semple, though this post will still be using his former (?) name to avoid confusion) and his beef with Amish Kapoor (asshole gatekeeping artist)! Super!
Now, forget all about that. Because this is actually about a different artist, one known by the name Yves Klein. Or, perhaps more accurately... his estate.
So, in addition to having beef with Amish Kapoor, Semple also endeavors to make art accessible for everyone by making other patented colors available to the general public. This includes the color of blue patented by the late artist Yves Klein.
To make it clear, Semple's color of blue is chemically different to Klein's color of blue. Even Klein's estate has acknowledged this. That's not what the lawsuit is about.
So... what is the lawsuit about?
The fact that Semple used the name Klein on the packaging, and that he painted his hand blue.
That's it. That's all. Not the fact it's the same color, not the fact that it's infringing on the patent, or whatever. No. Klein's estate claims that they own the trademark for... the name "Klein." Never mind the fact that there is a VERY WELL KNOWN fashion company that uses the name Klein in it that Semple has acknowledged was the inspiration for the design of the packaging for the paint. *COUGH COUGH, CALVIN KLEIN, COUGH COUGH.*
The worst part about all of this? Semple wasn't even allowed to defend himself in court. Klein's estate (which I believe is managed by his son) sued him in secret in a Paris court without his knowledge, and he wasn't even allowed the ability to defend himself. He was just given the order to pay the money, with no chance to defend himself at all. Yes, he's able to appeal the lawsuit, but that costs both time and money.
Well, I suppose that's up to you, really. But to me, it's really the principle of the matter. Semple has dedicated his life to making art accessible to the public, and as an artist myself, I respect this desire. And the fact he was sued without his knowledge, without the ability to even defend himself?
Well. It rankles me, to be frank.
Art should be accessible to everyone. Period. No person should gatekeep art, and to sue an artist trying to make art accessible, over a fricken common last name? Especially without allowing them to defend themself? ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PERSON SUING ISN'T EVEN THE ARTIST THEMSELF, BUT THEIR GREEDY ESTATE?
It's absolutely ridiculous, and I think something about be done, if possible. At least it should be known about, since the only reason I know is because I'm on Semple's company's mailing list, which I know not everyone is.
What can you do about this?
The smallest thing to do is to share this post, if you can, to raise awareness. It's a very niche topic that I've not really heard about other than through the aforementioned mailing list, and I think raising awareness will at least help, if nothing else. The more people who know, the better.
The next thing you can do is donate to Semple's GoFundMe for his legal expenses. He needs to raise £60,000, and as of this post (May 16th, 2025) he has only raised £9,410, less than 20% of what he needs. This way, he can at least try to fight this outrageous suit.
Another thing you can do is sign this petition created by a supporter of Semple's, which is calling to suspend all of Yves Klein's exhibitions until his estate stops suing living artists. I'm not entirely sure how much this will help, but Semple himself shared it in another of his emails, so it's an option, at least.
Also, you could, if you're obscenely rich, purchase one of these paintings, but since they're like... almost 30 grand each, I don't think that's an option for the average Tumblr user, aha. You could also buy one of these t-shirts, which are still a bit pricey at $41 USD, but the proceeds directly go towards his legal proceedings.
Finally, he does have his company, Culture Hustle, which has a lot of cool art paints and pigments for the average artist, if you're so inclined, including the infamous blue paint that sparked this whole debacle. Supporting him here will help overall, and you can get some super cool, highly pigmented paint or raw pigment itself, if that's your jam. Personally, I like the pigments for my resin art. Really, I suggest looking around the site, it has a ton of super cool paints and pigments that I wish I was able to afford all of.
Like every good essay, here's my final thoughts on all of this. Personally, I think it's bullshit that this is happening. I don't know Stuart Semple personally, and for all I know he's actually a terrible person who tortures puppies in his free time, who knows. I mean, I highly, HIGHLY doubt it, but anything's possible, and on Tumblr I know there are always people who love to "um, actually" literally everything.
But that's not the point.
The point is that this sets a precedent for the decedents of great artists (not even the artists themselves!) to sue living artists for bullshit reasons that have nothing to do with anything meaningful. It allows them to sue an artist who has dedicated his life to making art accessible, not allow him the right to defend himself, and think that the name of their great relative means they can bully any and everyone. If they're going to sue Semple over something simple as using a common last name on his paint, and painting his hand blue, what else would they secretly sue over, hoping their target is unable to afford the hefty international legal fees needed to counter their ridiculous claims?
It's the principle of the matter to me, more so than Semple himself. Don't get me wrong, I do like Semple from what I've seen (barring any unknown to me puppy torture that I'm sure some random Tumblr user will be all too willing to harass me over for somehow not knowing...), but I'm more affronted by the principle and the precedent this allows. As an artist myself, I despise the idea that something simple like trying to make art accessible is being attacked.
The Klein estate doesn't care about Semple using the name Klein or that he painted his hand blue. I'm sure they know that it's a ridiculous argument and they don't care about it whatsoever. What they want to stop is Semple selling his blue paint, which they can't touch since it's chemically different from their late relative's patented color. This is emphasized by the fact that they tried to have the judge seize and destroy every bottle of the paint created, which the judge thankfully denied.
Please. If you care about art being accessible, and about preventing greedy relatives of great artists from throwing their weight around for no reason other than they can... please share this post. Let the world know what Klein's estate is doing.
(Oh, and if you want something that Semple has done that is arguably great, other than trying to make art accessible, he helped with a campaign to protest the fact that gay men are not allowed to donate blood in the US. He took blood from gay men and created ink from it, which he then sold in various mediums, to show that it's not this scary, dangerous thing that the FDA makes it out to be. Which I personally think is pretty neat.)
UPDATE: Here's a link to another Tumblr post I made with the screenshots to the original email Semple's company, Culture Hustle, sent out. So y'all can see my source for the lawsuit information.
