Artist claims city-funded sculpture rips off his work

Jim Sanborn is considering his legal options after seeing a new Exhibition Place artwork similar to his trademark cylinders.

Thestar.com
Aug. 24, 2015
By Sarah-Joyce Battersby

The Games have ended, but controversy over a Pan Am legacy project might be just beginning.

American artist Jim Sanborn calls a newly installed bronze sculpture at Exhibition Place “quite stunning” in its similarity to his work.

“It’s something I’ve done for 23 years, and so it’s a little hard to stomach seeing that kind of plagiarism.”

Calling the piece “blatantly similar” in proportion and concept, Sanborn said he is considering his legal options.

The sculpture, engraved with the names of the sports played at the Pan and Parapan Am Games, illuminates after dark, casting the words onto the surrounding pavement.

The sculpture and the park were designed by Terraplan Landscape Architects. The firm’s managing director acknowledged the similarity after seeing Sanborn’s work Monday, but rebutted claims it was a direct copy.

“I see his point that it looks similar, for sure, but it came as part of a design process,” said Alan Schwartz.

The original plans called for a wave design, he said, but it evolved into a cylinder over concerns the wave’s edges could be dangerous.

“The cylinder is a very common form in the design world and in the art world, and there are other cylinders even in the city of Toronto that are perforated and have light in the centre,” he said.

The city funded the sculpture and the new $560,000 splash pad where it sits as part of Toronto’s Pan Am Games host city showcase program.

Terraplan had not heard from Sanborn or his attorney by Monday afternoon, Schwartz said, but he felt confident the firm could defend the work against allegations of copying, if not soothe the hurt feelings.

“I’m not sure how we would deal with that part of it,” he said. “I feel badly for the artist. If something happened, it was definitely unintentional.”

Spokespeople for the City of Toronto referred requests for comment to Exhibition Place. Upon learning about the matter, CEO Diane Young said she asked Terraplan to send her more information.

Since 1992, Maryland-based Sanborn has installed 15 illuminated cylindrical pieces, with two more on the way in the next few months, at sites throughout the United States, including A Comma, A at the University of Houston, Lux in Fort Meyers, Fla., and Lingua at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Kryptos, perhaps his most famous work, sits outside the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Va.

That piece has spawned a rabid community of fans who have attempted to decode the messages in the text since it was installed in 1990.

Sanborn has contacted his attorney about the Toronto piece. “We will respond. But that’s as much as I can say,” he said.

“Much like a musician writes a song, if another musician comes along and, you know, uses the lyrics and uses the tune, it’s a real problem. And it’s a real problem with this, too,” Sanborn said.

The artist said it took years to perfect the measurements and lighting elements of his first illuminated cylinder. That is partly why he believes the creator of the Toronto piece must have seen his work.

“I can’t imagine somebody not knowing the precedent for this,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do. So it had to be copied; this isn’t something somebody just came up (with) completely independently, all of a sudden, you know, in their garage. Some took a lot of planning.”

He estimates the piece, if he had made it, would run about $180,000 to $200,000 USD.

Though he says he would have taken the commission had he been approached, he has not accepted any sports-related commissions in the past.

“I’d prefer to do projects that are slightly more intellectual,” he said.

“The text choices are very important to me, and the content means a tremendous amount to me. If I just started listing objects or things on my sculptures, they wouldn’t be looked at more than once.”

His work is often multilingual and includes elements of mystery, which he says encourages collaboration with viewers.

“I feel very strongly that I’m not making signage. I won’t make logos for people. I’m not making signs.”